LC
Alpine Swift Tachymarptis melba



Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - -

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2024 Least Concern
2016 Least Concern
2012 Least Concern
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern
Species attributes

Migratory status full migrant Forest dependency low
Land-mass type Average mass -
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 61,100,000 km2 medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) 39,200,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size 2160000-4870000 mature individuals poor estimated 2018
Population trend unknown - suspected -
Generation length 7.79 years - - -

Population justification: In Europe, the total population size is estimated at 647,000-1,460,000 mature individuals, with 323,000-726,000 breeding pairs (BirdLife International 2021), and comprises approximately 30% of the species' global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is between 2,160,000-4,870,000 mature individuals, although further validation of this estimate is desirable. In Europe, the overall trend for this species is not known (BirdLife International 2021). As no other data are available to derive trends, the global population trend for this species is unknown.

Trend justification:    .


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Afghanistan extant native yes
Albania extant native yes
Algeria extant native
Andorra extant native yes
Angola extant native
Armenia extant native yes
Austria extant native yes
Azerbaijan extant native yes
Bahrain extant native yes
Bangladesh extant vagrant
Belgium extant vagrant
Benin extant native
Bhutan extant vagrant yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina extant native yes
Botswana extant native
Bulgaria extant native yes
Burkina Faso extant native
Cameroon extant native
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the extant native
Côte d'Ivoire extant native
Croatia extant native yes
Cyprus extant native yes
Czechia extant vagrant
Denmark extant vagrant
Djibouti extant vagrant
Egypt extant native
Eritrea extant native
Eswatini extant native
Ethiopia extant native
Finland extant vagrant
France extant native yes yes
Gabon extant vagrant
Georgia extant native yes
Germany extant native yes
Ghana extant vagrant
Gibraltar (to UK) extant native yes
Greece extant native yes yes
Guadeloupe (to France) extant vagrant
Guinea extant vagrant
Hungary extant vagrant
Iceland extant vagrant
India extant native yes
Iran, Islamic Republic of extant native yes
Iraq extant native yes yes
Ireland extant vagrant
Israel extant native yes
Italy extant native yes
Jordan extant native yes yes
Kazakhstan extant native yes
Kenya extant native
Kuwait extant native yes
Kyrgyzstan extant native yes
Lebanon extant native yes yes
Lesotho extant native
Liberia extant native
Libya extant native
Liechtenstein extant native yes
Madagascar extant native
Malawi extant native
Mali extant native
Malta extant native
Mauritania extant native
Montenegro extant native yes
Morocco extant native
Myanmar extant vagrant
Namibia extant native
Nepal extant native
Netherlands extant vagrant
Nigeria extant native
North Macedonia extant native yes
Norway extant vagrant
Oman extant native yes
Pakistan extant native yes
Palestine extant native yes
Poland extant vagrant
Portugal extant native yes
Qatar extant native yes
Romania extant native yes
Russia extant native yes
Russia (European) extant native yes
Rwanda extant native
Saudi Arabia extant native yes yes
Senegal extant vagrant
Serbia extant native yes
Sierra Leone extant vagrant
Slovakia extant vagrant
Slovenia extant native yes
Somalia extant native
South Africa extant native
South Sudan extant native yes
Spain extant native yes
Sri Lanka extant native yes
St Lucia extant vagrant
Sudan extant native
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) extant vagrant
Sweden extant vagrant
Switzerland extant native yes
Syria extant native yes yes
Tajikistan extant native yes
Tanzania extant native
Togo extant native
Tunisia extant native
Türkiye extant native yes
Turkmenistan extant native yes
Uganda extant native
Ukraine extant native yes yes
United Arab Emirates extant native yes
United Kingdom extant vagrant
Uzbekistan extant native yes
Yemen extant native yes yes
Zambia extant native
Zimbabwe extant native

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial Urban Areas major non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial Urban Areas major breeding
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable non-breeding
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable breeding
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland suitable non-breeding
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland suitable breeding
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane suitable non-breeding
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane suitable breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable non-breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude suitable non-breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude suitable breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded suitable non-breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded suitable breeding
Grassland Temperate suitable breeding
Grassland Temperate suitable non-breeding
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) major non-breeding
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) major breeding
Savanna Dry suitable breeding
Savanna Dry suitable non-breeding
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable non-breeding
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) suitable breeding
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable breeding
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable breeding
Altitude 0 - 4600 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Sport hunting/specimen collecting subsistence, national

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Alpine Swift Tachymarptis melba. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/alpine-swift-tachymarptis-melba on 23/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/12/2024.