Common Swift: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Small but Mighty Flyers · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. Some common swifts can stay aloft for ten months straight, never touching ground.
2. A swift's legs are very short and mostly used for clinging to walls. It never chooses to land on the ground, where it would be at risk.
3. Common swifts can reach a top level-flight speed of 111.6 km/h.
4. On summer evenings, groups of 10 to 20 swifts race screaming around their nest sites, and the nesting birds call back.
5. Swifts glue nests from airborne debris with saliva, often in old woodpecker holes. In Poland's Białowieża Forest, 600 were recorded.

The quiz

1. How long can some common swifts stay aloft without touching ground?

• Ten days
• Ten weeks
• Ten months (correct)
• Ten years

Some stay aloft for ten months straight.

2. What are a swift's ultra-short legs good for?

• Running on the ground
• Clinging to walls (correct)
• Swimming
• Digging

They are mostly used for clinging to walls.

3. What horizontal speed can a swift reach?

• 11.6 km/h
• 51.6 km/h
• 111.6 km/h (correct)
• 411.6 km/h

It can reach 111.6 km/h.

4. How many swifts usually make up a summer evening "screaming party"?

• 1 or 2
• 500 to 1,000
• Over 10,000
• 10 to 20 (correct)

On summer evenings, groups of 10 to 20 swifts fly screaming around their nest sites.

5. What do swifts use to glue their nests together?

• Mud
• Saliva (correct)
• Tree resin
• Spider silk

Nests are made of airborne debris glued with saliva.

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