CreatureData

House swift

Apus nipalensis (Hodgson, 1837)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The house swift (Apus nipalensis) is a species in the family Apodidae, order Apodiformes. Recorded adults weigh 23.6 g to 29.8 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

House swift (Apus nipalensis)
Photo: Prasan Shrestha · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the house swift

Weight
23.6 g – 29.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
22.1 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2.2 – 2.4src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
2src 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

Where does the house swift live?

Not recorded

What is the house swift?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The house swift (Apus affinis nipalensis) is a subspecies of the little swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Japan, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. It is capable of flying long distances by alternately shutting off hemispheres of its brain in-flight.

It was formerly considered a subspecies of the little swift, under the name Apus affinis subfurcatus, and was classed as a species of its own (A. nipalensis) until 2026.

From the Wikipedia article “House swift” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=House_swift&oldid=1383861020), 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.

Is the house swift endangered?

The house swift is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the house swift classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderApodiformes
  5. familyApodidae
  6. genusApus
  7. SpeciesApus nipalensis (Hodgson, 1837)

Synonyms Apus affinis nipalensis, Cypselus nipalensis

Other names and names in other languages (39)
  • سمامة المنزلArabic
  • falciot orientalCatalan
  • rorýs domácíCzech
  • rorýs indočínskýCzech
  • coblyn y taiWelsh
  • KlippesejlerDanish
  • MalaienseglerGerman
  • OrientseglerGerman
  • doma apodoEsperanto
  • Vencejo orientalSpanish
  • kodupiiritaja (kodu-piirpääsuke)Estonian
  • idänpikkukiitäjäFinnish
  • Martinet malaisFrench
  • Gabhlán gaoithe tíIrish
  • bjelogrla čiopaCroatian
  • nepáli sarlósfecskeHungarian
  • Kapinis rumahIndonesian
  • Rondone delle caseItalian
  • ヒメアマツバメJapanese
  • 쇠칼새Korean
  • malajinis čiurlysLithuanian
  • Nepalese GierzwaluwDutch
  • Grote HuisgierzwaluwDutch
  • husseilerNorwegian
  • jerzyk nepalskiPolish
  • Andorinhão-caseiroPortuguese
  • andorinhão-domésticoPortuguese
  • andorinhão-orientalPortuguese
  • andorinhão-pequeno-orientalPortuguese
  • Домовый стрижRussian
  • dážďovník domovýSlovak
  • Kućna čiopaSerbian
  • husseglareSwedish
  • นกแอ่นบ้านThai
  • Doğu Küçük EbabiliTurkish
  • серпокрилець непальськийUkrainian
  • 小白腰雨燕Chinese
  • 小雨燕Chinese
  • 小雨燕 〔小白腰雨燕，家雨燕〕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the house swift

Other species in the same genus Apus.

CompareHouse swift vs Common swiftHouse swift vs Pallid swiftHouse swift vs Little swiftHouse swift vs Pacific swift

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the house swift?

An adult house swift weighs 23.6 g – 29.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the house swift endangered?

The house swift is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the house swift?

The house swift (Apus nipalensis) belongs to the family Apodidae in the order Apodiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). House swift (Apus nipalensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/house-swift

MLA

“House swift (Apus nipalensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/house-swift.

BibTeX
@misc{house_swift_2026,
  title = {House swift (Apus nipalensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/house-swift},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}