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.
Tip-to-tip extent
Rising effortlessly upward
- glidingEngineless aerial movement
- speedRate of motion
- velocityDirected rate of motion
- maneuverabilityEase of controlled movement
aerobatic · wingbeat · swooping · darting · diving · climbing · banking · racing
Of or concerning birds
Animals gathered together
- swirlingTurning in curves
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
- duskDimming after sundown
- eveningLate day period
summer · sky · twilight · murmuration · tornado · vortex · display · synchrony
Travel from place to place
- southwardToward the equator's direction
- northwardToward the top
- seasonalRecurring at fixed intervals
- flywayEstablished bird migration path
navigation · overwintering · breeding-grounds · long-distance · departure · arrival · stopover · endurance
Vertical smoke passage
- eavesProjecting roof edges
- cliffVertical rock wall
- creviceNarrow opening in surface
- towerTall slender edifice
church · cave · nestbox · urban · rooftop · building · bridge
Settling to sleep aloft
- clingingGripping without release
- screamingLoud, shrill vocalizing
- screechingMaking harsh high sounds
- chasingFollowing to catch
wingspan
Tip-to-tip extent
soaring
Rising effortlessly upward
maneuverability · aerobatic · wingbeat · swooping · darting · diving · climbing · banking · racing · agile
avian
Of or concerning birds
clutch · ornithology · identification · birding · conservation
flock
Animals gathered together
evening · summer · sky · twilight · murmuration · tornado · vortex · display · synchrony
journey
Travel from place to place
flyway · navigation · overwintering · breeding-grounds · long-distance · departure · arrival · stopover · endurance · Africa
chimney
Vertical smoke passage
tower · church · cave · nestbox · urban · rooftop · building · bridge
roosting
Settling to sleep aloft
- clingingGripping without release
- screamingLoud, shrill vocalizing
- screechingMaking harsh high sounds
chasing · wheeling · circling · nesting · breeding · colonial
mosquitoes
Blood-drinking flying insects
beetles · aphids · mayflies · hawking · catching · scooping · foraging
- Apodiformeshummingbirds, swiftlet, hummingbird, ruby-throated hummingbird, hermit
- lizardslizard, lizards, gecko, geckos, chameleon
- nest builderseagles, robins, sparrows, swallows, wrens
- airborne lifedragonflies, gnats, mayflies, midges, bird migration
- birdsrobin, crow, eagle, owl, duck
- national parksYellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Everglades, Glacier National Park
swiftssloths
Extremely slow arboreal mammals
tortoises · snails · slowpokes · slugs · ground sloths
swiftspenguins
Flightless aquatic seabirds
flightless birds · ostriches · kiwis · emus · kakapos
- Taylor Swift
- swift justiceRapid legal punishment
- swift boatFast military riverboat
- swift responseFast reaction to stimulus
- Jonathan SwiftDublin's savage satirist
- swift runnerFast-moving racer