swifts

Never-landing small birds

Swifts are small, fast-flying birds with long, curved wings, often seen darting through the sky catching insects.

They resemble swallows but belong to a different family.

Swifts spend most of their lives airborne—eating, sleeping, and even mating on the wing.

The word also names a reel for winding yarn: She wound the skein onto the swift.

anatomy

wingspan

Tip-to-tip extent

  • feathersBird's lightweight covering
  • plumageBird's complete feather coat
  • tailRear animal appendage

beak · streamlined · aerodynamic · lightweight

flight

soaring

Rising effortlessly upward

maneuverability · aerobatic · wingbeat · swooping · darting · diving · climbing · banking · racing · agile

ornithology

avian

Of or concerning birds

clutch · ornithology · identification · birding · conservation

spectacle

flock

Animals gathered together

evening · summer · sky · twilight · murmuration · tornado · vortex · display · synchrony

migration

journey

Travel from place to place

flyway · navigation · overwintering · breeding-grounds · long-distance · departure · arrival · stopover · endurance · Africa

habitat

chimney

Vertical smoke passage

tower · church · cave · nestbox · urban · rooftop · building · bridge

behavior

roosting

Settling to sleep aloft

chasing · wheeling · circling · nesting · breeding · colonial

diet

mosquitoes

Blood-drinking flying insects

  • gnatsMinuscule swarming flies
  • fliesWinged buzzing pests
  • mothsNocturnal lepidopterans

beetles · aphids · mayflies · hawking · catching · scooping · foraging

Categories
Opposites
speed/movement

swiftssloths

Extremely slow arboreal mammals

tortoises · snails · slowpokes · slugs · ground sloths

aerial vs terrestrial/aquatic lifestyle

swiftspenguins

Flightless aquatic seabirds

flightless birds · ostriches · kiwis · emus · kakapos

taxonomic confusion/distinction

swiftsswallows

Gulps or migratory birds

martins · house martins · barn swallows

Phrases
Family

swift

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G