Scientific name: Apus apus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Swifts
Field characters. 17 cm. 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.
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.