# Common swift (*Apus apus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/apus-apus  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 37.6 g – 40 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 40 cm |
| Lifespan | 21 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 21.1 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | human_modified |
| Egg incubation | 19.6 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2.3 – 3 |
| Age at maturity | 24 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Aerial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Apodiformes
- family: Apodidae
- genus: Apus
- species: *Apus apus* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Brachypus melanogaster*, *Cypselus apus*, *Cypselus murarius*, *Cypselus murarius*, *Cypselus niger*, *Cypselus vulgaris*, *Hirundo apus*, *Micropus apus*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Common swift (Apus apus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/apus-apus