The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are not closely related to any passerine species. Swifts are placed in the order Apodiformes with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae.
The Pacific swift or fork-tailed swift is a species of bird that is part of the Swift family. It breeds in eastern Asia. It is strongly migratory, spending the northern hemisphere's winter in Southeast Asia and Australia. The general shape and blackish plumage recall its relative, the common swift, from which it is distinguished by a white rump band and heavily marked underparts. The sexes are identical in appearance, although young birds can be identified by pale fringes to the wing feathers that are absent in adults. This swift's main call is a screech typical of its family. It is one of a group of closely related Asian swifts formerly regarded as one species.
The white-throated needletail, also known as needle-tailed swift or spine-tailed swift, is a large swift in the genus Hirundapus. It is reputed to reach speeds of up to 170 km/h in horizontal flight, but this is unverified because the methods used to measure its speed have not been published.
The brown-backed needletail, or brown needletail, is a large swift.
The bird genus Apus comprise some of the Old World members of the family Apodidae, commonly known as swifts.
The purple needletail, or hagibas in Tagalog, is the largest swift found in the Old World. It is native to the Philippine archipelago and the Minahasa Peninsula (Sulawesi).
Chaetura is a genus of needletail swifts found in the Americas. Although they resemble swallows, the two are not at all closely related; this is instead a result of convergent evolution. Some members of Chaetura are long-distance migrants, while others are year-round residents.
Collocalia is a genus of swifts, containing some of the smaller species termed "swiftlets". Formerly a catch-all genus for these, a number of its former members are now normally placed in Aerodramus.
Cypseloides is a genus of swifts in the family Apodidae. It contains eight described species. They occur mainly in Central and South America. The exception being the American black swift, which has a wide range into North America.
The silver-backed needletail is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Southeast Asia, Sumatra, Java and Taiwan. It is a vagrant to Christmas Island. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Panyptila is a genus of swifts in the family Apodidae. The two species are found in Central and South America.
The silver-rumped spinetail or silver-rumped needletail is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Tachymarptis is a genus of bird in the swift family, Apodidae. It contains the Alpine swift of Eurasia and Africa and the mottled swift of Africa. They are large swifts with relatively broad wings, a large head, a medium-length forked tail and white in the underparts. They are often included in the genus Apus but they are larger than other members of that genus, their nestlings have a different foot structure and they host different species of feather lice. The species placed in Tachymarptis are not deeply nested inside Apus but represent a monophyletic sister lineage to this genus, in order that they can either be regarded as a distinct genus or lumped into a genus Apus with a broader definition. This latter view is the one retained by the Clements Checklist (2022). The name Tachymarptis comes from Greek takhus ("fast") and marptis ("seizer").
H. giganteus may refer to:
The Apodinae are a subfamily of swifts and contain the following species:
The satin swiftlet is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to the Santa Cruz Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet.
The drab swiftlet is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet.
The ridgetop swiftlet is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to the Philippines.
