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14

Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus) German name(s): "Fahlsegler" Size: 16-18 cm; wing span 39-44 cm

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Pallid Swifts are relatively large swifts. Their plumage is all dark-grey, except a large light-grey throat patch. The entire body plumage has thin mid-grey edges, leading to a finely vermiculated appearance when seen close-up. Swifts, as the name suggests, are fast fliers; accordingly, their wings have the shape of a backward-bent sickle, which - together with the relatively short, prominently forked tail - distinguishes them from swallows. In-flight the very short legs are invisible.

Taxonomy, classification See Pallid Swift at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Pallid Swift is available HERE . Pallid Swifts are a strongly migratory species; except when breeding they are continuously on the wing, for up to 10 months per year. Their total range extends from islands off North-west Africa in the West to southern Iran and Oman in the East. Their breeding grounds are mostly around the Mediterranean, in Asia Minor, the Middle East and Arabia. Some are found as far to the North as the British Isles, Denmark and southern Sweden. They overwinter in sub-Saharan Africa. Only along the lower river Nile and in two more areas along the North coast of Africa there are sedentary populations. In Europe Pallid Swifts occur as summer breeding migrants only in near-coastal areas of the northern Mediterranean Sea, ranging from the southern half of Portugal in the West to eastern Greece in the East, including the Mediterranean islands. During the breeding season Pallid Swifts will be found near suitable nest sites (rockfaces, ruins, houses, bridges, viaducts), in the vicinity of good hunting grounds (e.g. near water). Outside the breeding season their movements will be dominated by the availability of flying insects, which are often abundant in wetlands, especially stagnant water or in marshy river deltas.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Pires reports finding Pallid Swifts regularly during the breeding season in the area the Tejo estuary to Mora, Evora, Portugal. Others were found at Varzea Redonda, Alandroal, Portugal, in June 2019. Another sighting was at Rio Minho, Viana do Castelo, Costa Verde, Portugal, in July 2020. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-frontal view of a Pallid Swift in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2020]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a Pallid Swift in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Rio Minho, Viana do Castelo, Costa Verde, Portugal, July 2020]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a Pallid Swift in flight illuminated by mellow evening sunlight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2020]

Near-lateral view of a Pallid Swift in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, Couco, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, June 2020]

Near-lateral view of a Pallid Swift in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Varzea Redonda, Alandroal, Portugal, June 2019]

Lateral view of a Pallid Swift in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Lateral view of a Pallid Swift in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Lateral view of a Pallid Swift in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a Pallid Swift in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Pallid Swift in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Pallid Swift in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Pallid Swift in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Close-up near-dorsal/ventral view of a Pallid Swift in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Pair/flock

Frontal/ventral view of a Pallid Swift in flight; swifts have weak legs and spend most of their lives in the air - running repairs like a bit of preening are all done on the wing; the important thing is not to lose one's head... (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2020]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a Pallid Swift in the process of catching an insect in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2020]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

palswft_jp_20200604.m4a

(Portugal)

Contact calls (in-flight)

© JP

More Pallid Swift sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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