CreatureData

Little swift

Apus affinis (J. E. Gray, 1830)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The little swift (Apus affinis) is a species in the family Apodidae, order Apodiformes. Recorded adults weigh 22.6 g to 26.1 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Little swift (Apus affinis)
Photo: Francesco Veronesi from Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the little swift

Weight
22.6 g – 26.1 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
1.7 – 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 little swift live?

Not recorded

What is the little swift?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The little swift (Apus affinis) is a small species of swift found in Africa and southwestern Asia, and are vagrants and local breeders in southern Europe. They are found both in urban areas and at rocky cliffs where they build nests in a way typical of all members of the order Apodiformes. The genus name Apus is Latin for a swift, thought by the ancients to be a type of swallow without feet (from Ancient Greek α, a, "without", and πούς, pous, "foot"). The Latin specific affinis means similar to or related to, but in this case the species that the little swift supposedly resembles is not clear from the description. A population formerly considered to be an eastern subspecies of little swift is now separated as a distinct species, the house swift (Apus nipalensis).

From the Wikipedia article “Little swift” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_swift&oldid=1322270542), 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 little swift sound like?

Manoj Karingamadathil · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Is the little swift endangered?

The little 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.

How is the little swift classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderApodiformes
  5. familyApodidae
  6. genusApus
  7. SpeciesApus affinis (J. E. Gray, 1830)

Synonyms Colletoptera affinis, Cypselus affinis

Other names and names in other languages (54)
  • House swiftEnglish
  • LISWEnglish
  • KleinwindswaelAfrikaans
  • سمام صغيرArabic
  • سمامة صغيرةArabic
  • andarón nanuAsturian
  • Малък бързолетBulgarian
  • Glaouer pastellekBreton
  • falciot cuablanc comúCatalan
  • rorýs domovníCzech
  • Gwennol Ddu FachWelsh
  • Gwenoliaid Du BachWelsh
  • Lille SejlerDanish
  • HausseglerGerman
  • ΜικροσταχτάραGreek
  • eta apodoEsperanto
  • Malgranda apusoEsperanto
  • Vencejo moroSpanish
  • väikepiiritajaEstonian
  • väikepiiritaja e. väike-piirpääsukeEstonian
  • بادخورک کوچکPersian
  • pikkukiitäjäFinnish
  • Pikkukiitäjä PikkutervapääskyFinnish
  • Martinet des maisonsFrench
  • Gabhlán beagIrish
  • Gabhlán gaoithe beagIrish
  • Gollan begManx
  • סיס גלילHebrew
  • סיס הגלילHebrew
  • čiopa pokućarkaCroatian
  • kis sarlósfecskeHungarian
  • Kepinis RumahIndonesian
  • SkíðsvölungurIcelandic
  • Rondone minoreItalian
  • Rondone indianoItalian
  • ニシヒメアマツバメJapanese
  • mažasis čiurlysLithuanian
  • mazā svīreLatvian
  • SidintsidindranoMalagasy
  • അമ്പലംചുറ്റിMalayalam
  • HuisgierzwaluwDutch
  • småseilerNorwegian
  • jerzyk małyPolish
  • andorinhão-pequenoPortuguese
  • Малый стрижRussian
  • UhcaleahttospálfuNorthern Sami
  • dážďovník malýSlovak
  • mali hudournikSlovenian
  • Mala čiopaSerbian
  • stubbstjärtseglareSwedish
  • Küçük EbabilTurkish
  • серпокрилець малийUkrainian
  • 小雨燕Chinese
  • 歐洲小雨燕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the little swift

Other species in the same genus Apus.

CompareLittle swift vs Common swiftLittle swift vs Pallid swiftLittle swift vs Pacific swiftLittle swift vs White-rumped swift

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the little swift?

An adult little swift weighs 22.6 g – 26.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the little swift endangered?

The little 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 little swift?

The little swift (Apus affinis) 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). Little swift (Apus affinis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-swift

MLA

“Little swift (Apus affinis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-swift.

BibTeX
@misc{little_swift_2026,
  title = {Little swift (Apus affinis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-swift},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}