Common swift
Apus apus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The common swift (Apus apus) is a bird in the family Apodidae, subfamily Apodinae, within the order Apodiformes. It is a small, migratory, aerial invertivore with an adult body mass of 37.6 g (up to 40 g) and a wingspan of 40 cm.
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Quick facts about the common swift
It lays one clutch per year with a representative clutch size of 2.3 eggs and up to 3, incubates the eggs for 19.6 days and reaches sexual maturity at 2 years. Its habitat is human-modified land, its geographic range covers 24,780,000 km², and the IUCN Red List classes it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 37.6 g – 40 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 40 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 21 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 19.6 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.3 – 3src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 24 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the common swift?
Photos of the common swift
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the common swift live?
Not recorded
What is the common swift?
The common swift (Apus apus) is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar contextual development. The swifts' nearest relatives are the New World hummingbirds and the Southeast Asian treeswifts.
Its scientific name Apus is Latin for a swift, thought by the ancients to be a type of swallow with no feet (from Ancient Greek α, a, "without", and πούς, pous, "foot").
Swifts have very short legs which they use primarily for clinging to vertical surfaces (hence the German name Mauersegler, literally meaning "wall-glider"). They never settle voluntarily on the ground where they would be vulnerable to accidents and predation, and non-breeding individuals may spend up to ten months in continuous flight.
From the Wikipedia article “Common swift” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_swift&oldid=1361442305), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the common swift sound like?
Is the common swift endangered?
The common swift is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common swift classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderApodiformes
- familyApodidae
- genusApus
- SpeciesApus apus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Brachypus melanogaster, Cypselus apus, Cypselus murarius, Cypselus murarius, Cypselus niger, Cypselus vulgaris, Hirundo apus, Micropus apus
Other names and names in other languages (150)
- Common swift [bird]English
- European swiftEnglish
- European swiftEnglish
- SwiftEnglish
- SwiftEnglish
- Swift, common swiftEnglish
- Europese WindswaelAfrikaans
- سمام شائعArabic
- سمامة أوربيةArabic
- سمامة شائعةArabic
- سمامة عاديةArabic
- سمامة مألوفةArabic
- FalcetaAragonese
- cirriuAsturian
- andarónAsturian
- carboneruAsturian
- venceyuAsturian
- БибичуAvaric
- диргваAvaric
- Qara uzunqanadAzerbaijani
- Чорны свіргульBelarusian
- Чорны свiргульBelarusian
- Черен бързолетBulgarian
- Glaouer duBreton
- falciot negreCatalan
- Шим вӹрзиMari
- ВӗршӗнChuvash
- Хура вĕршĕнChuvash
- rorýs obecnýCzech
- JaskùlcKashubian
- gwennol dduWelsh
- Gwenoliaid DuWelsh
- mursejlerDanish
- MauerseglerGerman
- ΣταχτάραGreek
- μαυροσταχτάραGreek
- Κοινή ΣταχτάραGreek
- (Κοινή) ΣταχτάραGreek
- Nigra apusoEsperanto
- ordinara apodoEsperanto
- vencejo comúnSpanish
- PiiritajaEstonian
- piiritaja e. piirpääsukeEstonian
- PiirpääsukeEstonian
- Sorbeltz arruntBasque
- Sorbeltz arruntaBasque
- بادخورک معمولیPersian
- tervapääskyFinnish
- FeigdarsveimariFaroese
- Martinet noirFrench
- TürnswaalkNorthern Frisian
- ToerswelWestern Frisian
- gobhlainScottish Gaelic
- ainleag-dhubhScottish Gaelic
- ainleagan dubhaScottish Gaelic
- gabhlán gaoitheScottish Gaelic
- Gobhlan dubhScottish Gaelic
- Gobhlan MòrScottish Gaelic
- gòbhlan mòrScottish Gaelic
- gobhlan-dubhScottish Gaelic
- gòbhlananScottish Gaelic
- Cirrio comúnGalician
- Gollan mooarManx
- סיס חומותHebrew
- סיס החומותHebrew
- sarlósfecskeHungarian
- Մանգաղաթև սևArmenian
- MúrsvölungurIcelandic
- Rondone comuneItalian
- RondoneItalian
- ヨーロッパアマツバメJapanese
- ნამგალაGeorgian
- ХьэпцӀащхъуэKabardian
- Тигір харачхайыkjn
- ЕшкіемерKazakh
- Қара сұрқарлығашKazakh
- 유럽칼새Korean
- 검은등칼새Korean
- Gwennol dhuCornish
- Кара карлыгачKyrgyz
- LeeëndeckerLuxembourgish
- BarboutuLigurian
- čiurlysLithuanian
- juodasis čiurlysLithuanian
- svīreLatvian
- пучыреMari
- Мала пишталкаMacedonian
- обична пиштаркаMacedonian
- മലങ്കൂളൻMalayalam
- RundunMaltese
- Хурын ураацай - ᠬᠣᠷᠠ ᠣᠷᠠᠴᠠᠢMongolian
- ВӹрзиWestern Mari
- Tó wónaanídę́ę́ʼ tsxį́į́łnaalkʼįhiiNavajo
- tårnseilerNorwegian Bokmål
- TårnsejlerNorwegian Bokmål
- खैरो गौंथलीNepali
- gierzwaluwDutch
- tårnseglarNorwegian Nynorsk
- jerzykPolish
- jerzyk (zwyczajny)Polish
- Jerzyk zwyczajnyPolish
- andorinhão-pretoPortuguese
- andorinhão-asa-de-foicePortuguese
- Randurel pitschenRomansh
- Drepnea neagrăRomanian
- Drepneaua micăRomanian
- Стриж черныйRussian
- Башенный стрижRussian
- Чёрный стрижRussian
- СерпикRusyn
- RinninuniSicilian
- LeahttospálfuNorthern Sami
- arveniehkkiNorthern Sami
- seakkasoadjiNorthern Sami
- stohkkespálfuNorthern Sami
- dážďovník obyčajnýSlovak
- hudournikSlovenian
- Črni hudournikSlovenian
- LehaqasiSouthern Sotho
- dejkaAlbanian
- Crna čiopaSerbian
- Црна чиопаSerbian
- Crna ciopa - Црна чиопаSerbian
- RundinoneSardinian
- tornseglareSwedish
- tornsvalaSwedish
- Teleka wa UlayaSwahili
- தரையிலான் குருவிTamil
- นกแอ่นพันธุ์ยูเรเชียThai
- EbabilTurkish
- ebabil kusuTurkish
- ebabil kuşuTurkish
- karasaganTurkish
- karasağanTurkish
- PêolwaneTswana
- NkonjanaTsonga
- Кара сыйтылааTuvinian
- Сьӧд пӧськыUdmurt
- Серпокрилець чорнийUkrainian
- RondonVenetian
- Yến thông thườngVietnamese
- AirtchîWalloon
- IhlabankomoXhosa
- װאַנטשװאַלבYiddish
- טורעם־זעגלערYiddish
- 樓燕Chinese
- 普通楼燕Chinese
- 普通樓燕Chinese
- 普通雨燕Chinese
- iJankomoZulu
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common swift
Other species in the same genus Apus.
Pallid swift
Apus pallidus
House swift
Apus affinis
Pacific swift
Apus pacificus
White-rumped swift
Apus caffer
Plain swift
Apus unicolor
House swift
Apus nipalensis
CompareCommon swift vs Pallid swiftCommon swift vs House swiftCommon swift vs Pacific swiftCommon swift vs White-rumped swift
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common swift?
The common swift is a bird in the family Apodidae and order Apodiformes. It is a small, aerial, migratory species.
How much does a common swift weigh?
An adult common swift weighs 37.6 g, with a highest reported value of 40 g. Its wingspan is 40 cm.
What does the common swift eat?
The common swift is an invertivore, placing it at the carnivore trophic level.
Is the common swift endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List classes the common swift as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a common swift live?
The common swift has a lifespan of 21 years, with a highest reported value of 21.08 years.
How many eggs does a common swift lay?
The common swift has a representative clutch size of 2.3 eggs, up to 3, and lays one clutch per year. Incubation lasts 19.6 days.
Does the common swift migrate?
Yes, the common swift is migratory. Its geographic range covers 24,780,000 km².
Who named the common swift?
The scientific name Apus apus is attributed to (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common swift (Apus apus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/apus-apus
“Common swift (Apus apus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/apus-apus.
@misc{apus_apus_2026,
title = {Common swift (Apus apus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/apus-apus},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}