Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts (Apodidae), the treeswifts (Hemiprocnidae), and the hummingbirds (Trochilidae). In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes. With nearly 450 species identified to date, they are the most diverse order of birds after the passerines.
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 fork-tailed palm swift or Neotropical palm swift is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found across most of northern South America and on Trinidad and Tobago.
The Antillean palm swift is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found on the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola.
Aeronautes is a genus of swifts in the family Apodidae.
Hirundapus is a genus of swifts in the family Apodidae. The name Hirundapus is constructed from the names of the swallow genus Hirundo and the swift genus Apus.
The giant swiftlet, also known as the waterfall swift, is a species of bird in the swift family, Apodidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Hydrochous. It is found in Malaysia, Sumatra and Java, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Mearnsia is a genus of swifts in the family Apodidae.
The scarce swift is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It has a disjunct range of presence throughout the Afromontane : Cameroon line, Albertine Rift montane forests, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.
Streptoprocne is a genus of swifts in the family Apodidae. It contains five species that exist in Central and South America.
The pygmy palm swift, also known as the pygmy swift, is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
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").
Cypsiurus is a genus of the swift family of birds.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1982.
The Christmas Island swiftlet, also known as the Christmas glossy swiftlet or the Christmas cave swiftlet, is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the eastern Indian Ocean. It was formerly commonly treated as a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet.
Richard Kendall Brooke was an Indian-born British ornithologist who mostly worked in Zimbabwe.
The Apodinae are a subfamily of swifts and contain the following species:
The Malagasy palm swift is a small swift in the family Apodidae. It is very similar to the African palm swift, Cypsiurus parvus, with which it was formerly considered conspecific. It was split based on differences in vocalizations and plumage coloration.
