CreatureData

Pallid swift

Apus pallidus (Shelley, 1870)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The pallid swift (Apus pallidus) is a species in the family Apodidae, order Apodiformes. Recorded adults weigh 41.3 g to 42 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Pallid swift (Apus pallidus)
Photo: Ismael Olea · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the pallid swift

Weight
41.9 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
44 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
rockysrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
21.4 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2.4 – 2.45src 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

How big is the pallid swift?

PALLID SWIFT · WINGSPAN 44 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 44 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the pallid swift is about 26% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the pallid swift live?

Not recorded

What is the pallid swift?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The pallid swift (Apus pallidus) is a swift (order Apodiformes). Swifts have very short legs which they use only for clinging to vertical surfaces. The genus 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"), and pallidus is Latin for "pale". Like other swifts they never settle voluntarily on the ground, but spend most of their lives in the air, living on the insects they catch in their beaks. They drink on the wing.

From the Wikipedia article “Pallid swift” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pallid_swift&oldid=1322270564), 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 pallid swift endangered?

The pallid 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 pallid swift classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderApodiformes
  5. familyApodidae
  6. genusApus
  7. SpeciesApus pallidus (Shelley, 1870)

Synonyms Apus murinus, Cypselus murinus, Cypselus pallidus, Cypselus pallidus

Other names and names in other languages (59)
  • PASWEnglish
  • BruinwindswaelAfrikaans
  • سمام باهتArabic
  • السمامة الباهتةArabic
  • سمامة باهتةArabic
  • سمامة فاتحةArabic
  • andarón páliduAsturian
  • Блед бързолетBulgarian
  • Glaouer gellBreton
  • falciot pàl·lidCatalan
  • rorýs šedohnědýCzech
  • Coblyn GwelwWelsh
  • Gwennol Ddu WelwWelsh
  • Gwennol Welw-dduWelsh
  • Gwenoliaid Du GwelwWelsh
  • GråsejlerDanish
  • FahlseglerGerman
  • ΩχροσταχτάραGreek
  • pala apodoEsperanto
  • Pala apusoEsperanto
  • Vencejo pálidoSpanish
  • randpiiritajaEstonian
  • rand-piirpääsukeEstonian
  • randpiiritaja e. rand-piirpääsukeEstonian
  • بادخورک دودیPersian
  • vaaleakiitäjäFinnish
  • Martinet pâleFrench
  • Martinet murinFrench
  • Gabhlán bánlíochIrish
  • Gollan glass-baneManx
  • סיס חוורוורHebrew
  • smeđa čiopaCroatian
  • halvány sarlósfecskeHungarian
  • FölsvölungurIcelandic
  • Rondone pallidoItalian
  • ウスアマツバメJapanese
  • blyškusis čiurlysLithuanian
  • bālā svīreLatvian
  • сива пиштаркаMacedonian
  • Vale GierzwaluwDutch
  • gråseglarNorwegian Nynorsk
  • gråseilerNorwegian
  • jerzyk bladyPolish
  • andorinhão-pálidoPortuguese
  • Drepnea palidăRomanian
  • Бледный стрижRussian
  • ČuvgesleahttospálfuNorthern Sami
  • čuvgescihranNorthern Sami
  • dážďovník plavýSlovak
  • bledi hudournikSlovenian
  • Siva čiopaSerbian
  • Сива чиопаSerbian
  • blek tornseglareSwedish
  • นกแอ่นแพลิดThai
  • Boz EbabilTurkish
  • серпокрилець блідийUkrainian
  • 苍雨燕Chinese
  • 淡色雨燕Chinese
  • 蒼雨燕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the pallid swift

Other species in the same genus Apus.

ComparePallid swift vs Common swiftPallid swift vs Little swiftPallid swift vs Pacific swiftPallid swift vs White-rumped swift

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the pallid swift?

An adult pallid swift weighs 41.9 g and has a wingspan of 44 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the pallid swift endangered?

The pallid 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 pallid swift?

The pallid swift (Apus pallidus) 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.

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.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Pallid swift (Apus pallidus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pallid-swift

MLA

“Pallid swift (Apus pallidus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/pallid-swift.

BibTeX
@misc{pallid_swift_2026,
  title = {Pallid swift (Apus pallidus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/pallid-swift},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}