Alpine Swift

Apus melba

The alpine swift is a species of swift found in Africa, southern Europe, and Asia. They breed in mountains from southern Europe to the Himalayas. Like common swifts, they are migratory; the southern European population winters further south in southern Africa. They have very short legs which are used for clinging to vertical surfaces. Like most swifts, they never settle voluntarily on the ground, spending most of their lives in the air living on the insects they catch in their beaks. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 6,682 times across 29 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

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Movement and weather

Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 20°C (typically 14 to 30°C, from 16 areas). That range is wide, so temperature alone does not explain when it turns up.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.