Profile
In flight
Speed Demons
House Swift
Apus nipalensis
- uncommon
- 60 km/h
- Least Concern
A small sooty swift that lives in the air above market streets and temple towers, screaming in tight flocks at dusk. Lands only to cling to vertical walls.
- Population
- very large; benefits from urbanization and nests colonially under overhangs
- Habitat
- cliffs, rocky gorges, temple towers, bridges, and the eaves of buildings throughout South, East, and Southeast Asia
- Diet
- aerial insects taken on the wing — flies, midges, ants, small beetles, flying termites
- Size
- 0.15 m
- Wingspan
- 0.36 m
