Apus apus - Common Swift
Feather characters. Barbule length varies from short until long (0.6-1.8 mm). Barbules look like dark, heavily pigmented threads. Both nodes and internodes are pigmented. Borders between cells are visible, but hardly swollen and thus too small to qualify as nodes. These nodal structures (20-26 per mm) have about the same size along the entire length of the barbules, only slightly decreasing towards the tip. Villi are absent and internodes are straight. Prongs are absent. Occasionally minute prongs are found on proximal end of barbules.
Field characters. Size 17 cm. Weight 38 g (31-43) (Dunning, 1993). A dark brown swallow-like bird, looking black at distance. Long pointed, back-swept scythe-shaped wings and forked tail are best identification marks. Whitish throat not always visible. Juvenile looks somewhat lighter because of light feather edges. Always on the wing, even mates and sleeps in the air. Flight very fast, usually in noisy flocks.
Voice. A shrill screaming 'scree scree'.
Distribution. Common summer visitor. Abundant in south, common in north. Map: see MapIt.
Habitat. Breeds in towns and cities under roof-tiles and in holes on attics. In Scandinavia also nests in trees. Feeds in the air and can make long feeding journeys when forced to do so during adverse weather conditions, up to several hundred kilometres.
Food. Flying insects and airborne spiders.