Swift
Featured in: Year 1: Seasonal changes
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Swift
Bird
A dark, 'boomerang'-shaped bird that arrives in the UK in late spring and leaves at the end of summer.
Seasonal Behaviour:
On warm summer evenings, you might hear loud 'screaming' sounds from high in the sky. This is a group of swifts chasing each other very fast, known as a 'screaming party'. They are very fast, noisy flyers.
💡 Fun Facts
- Swifts spend almost their whole lives in the air. They eat, drink, and even sleep while flying!
- The only time a swift ever lands is to build a small nest (under roof tiles or in cliffs) and lay its eggs.
- They eat flying insects, catching them in their wide mouths like a net.
📅 Through the Year
- In the UK:May to August
- Breeding:May to July
Name Story
Apus apus
means “the footless one”
a traditional story'Footless' comes from an old belief, not the truth — swifts do have tiny feet; they simply cannot walk on them. The name captures the legend rather than the biology.
What does its name mean?
- Apus — without feetGreek a- 'without' + pous 'foot'
- apus — repeats the genus, so the name says 'footless' twiceGreek
People once believed swifts had no feet at all, because you almost never see one perched — they eat, sleep and even mate on the wing, landing only to nest. They do have tiny feet, just enough to cling to a wall, but never to walk.