LC
Common Swift Apus apus



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.
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 Perrins, C.M. 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Cramp, S.; Perrins, C. M. 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. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
del Hoyo, J.; Collar, N. J.; Christie, D. A.; Elliott, A.; Fishpool, L. D. C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International.

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

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2016 Least Concern
2014 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) 39,800,000 km2 medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) 13,300,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size 95000000-164999999 mature individuals poor estimated 2012
Population trend stable - suspected -
Generation length 11.2 years - - -

Population justification: The European population is estimated at 19,100,000-32,500,000 pairs, which equates to 38,200,000-65,000,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2015). Europe forms c. 40% of the global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 95,500,000-162,500,000 mature individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed. The population is therefore placed in the band 95,000,000-164,999,999 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Between 1980 and 2013 the European population trend was estimated as stable (EBCC 2015).


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
Belarus extant native yes
Belgium extant native yes
Benin extant native
Bosnia and Herzegovina extant native yes
Botswana extant native
Bulgaria extant native yes
Burkina Faso extant native
Burundi extant native
Cameroon extant native
Cape Verde extant vagrant
Central African Republic extant native
Chad extant native
China (mainland) extant native yes
Comoros extant vagrant
Congo 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 native yes
Denmark extant native yes yes
Djibouti extant native
Egypt extant native
Equatorial Guinea extant native
Eritrea extant native
Estonia extant native yes
Eswatini extant native
Ethiopia extant native
Faroe Islands (to Denmark) extant native
Finland extant native yes yes
France extant native yes yes
Gabon extant native
Gambia extant native
Georgia extant native yes
Germany extant native yes yes
Ghana extant native
Gibraltar (to UK) extant native yes
Greece extant native yes yes
Guinea extant native
Guinea-Bissau extant native
Hong Kong (China) extant vagrant
Hungary extant native yes
Iceland extant vagrant
India extant native yes
Iran, Islamic Republic of extant native yes yes
Iraq extant native yes yes
Ireland extant native yes
Israel extant native yes
Italy extant native yes yes
Jordan extant native yes
Kazakhstan extant native yes
Kenya extant native
Kuwait extant native yes
Kyrgyzstan extant native yes
Latvia extant native yes
Lebanon extant native yes yes
Lesotho extant native
Liberia extant native
Libya extant native
Liechtenstein extant native yes
Lithuania extant native yes
Luxembourg extant native yes
Malawi extant native
Maldives extant native
Mali extant native
Malta extant native yes
Mauritania extant native
Moldova extant native yes
Mongolia extant native yes
Montenegro extant native yes
Morocco extant native
Mozambique extant native
Namibia extant native
Nepal extant native yes
Netherlands extant native yes
Niger extant native
Nigeria extant native
North Macedonia extant native yes
Norway extant native yes
Oman extant native yes
Pakistan extant native yes
Palestine extant native yes
Poland extant native yes
Portugal extant native yes
Qatar extant native yes
Romania extant native yes
Russia extant native yes
Russia (Asian) extant native yes
Russia (Central Asian) extant native yes
Russia (European) extant native yes
Rwanda extant native
Saudi Arabia extant native yes
Senegal extant native
Serbia extant native yes
Seychelles extant vagrant
Sierra Leone extant native
Slovakia extant native yes
Slovenia extant native yes
Somalia extant vagrant
South Africa extant native
South Sudan extant native yes
Spain extant native yes
St Helena (to UK) extant vagrant
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) extant vagrant yes
Sudan extant native
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) extant vagrant
Sweden extant native yes
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 native yes
USA extant vagrant
Uzbekistan extant native yes
Western Sahara extant native
Yemen extant native 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 Arable Land suitable non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial Arable Land suitable breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial Urban Areas major breeding
Desert Hot suitable non-breeding
Desert Hot 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 breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude suitable non-breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded suitable breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded suitable non-breeding
Grassland Temperate suitable non-breeding
Grassland Temperate suitable breeding
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) major breeding
Savanna Dry suitable non-breeding
Savanna Dry suitable breeding
Shrubland Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation suitable non-breeding
Shrubland Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation suitable breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable breeding
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable breeding
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable non-breeding
Altitude 0 - 3300 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Common Swift Apus apus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/common-swift-apus-apus 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.