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Common Swift Apus apus
IUCN Red List history
| Year | Category |
|---|---|
| 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 | - |
Distribution
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) | 9,560,000 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) | 9,560,000 | medium |
| Number of locations | - | |
| Fragmentation | - |
Population & trend
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of mature individuals | poor | Estimated | 2009 | |
| Population trend | Decreasing | - | ||
| Number of subpopulations | - | - | - | |
| Largest subpopulation | - | - | - | |
| Generation length (yrs) | 11.2 | - | - | - |
| Population justification: In Europe, the breeding population is estimated to number 6,900,000-17,000,000 breeding pairs, equating to 20,700,000-51,000,000 individuals (BirdLife International 2004). Europe forms 25-49% of the global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 40,000,000-200,000,000 individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed. National population sizes have been estimated at c.100-10,000 breeding pairs and c.50-1,000 individuals on migration in China and c.100-10,000 breeding pairs and c.50-1,000 individuals on migration in Russia (Brazil 2009). | ||||
| Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to a reduction in the availability of food and nesting sites. In Europe, trends since 1980 show that populations have undergone a moderate decline (p<0.01), based on provisional data for 21 countries from the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (EBCC/RSPB/BirdLife/Statistics Netherlands; P. Vorisek in litt. 2008). | ||||
Country/Territory distribution
| Country/Territory | Occurrence status | Extinct | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Albania | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Algeria | Native | No | |||
| Andorra | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Angola | Native | No | |||
| Armenia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Austria | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Azerbaijan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Bahrain | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Belarus | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Belgium | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Benin | Native | No | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Botswana | Native | No | |||
| Bulgaria | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Burkina Faso | Native | No | |||
| Burundi | Native | No | |||
| Cameroon | Native | No | |||
| Cape Verde | Vagrant | No | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | Native | No | |||
| Central African Republic | Native | No | |||
| Chad | Native | No | |||
| China (mainland) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Comoros | Vagrant | No | |||
| Congo | Native | No | |||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | Native | No | |||
| Croatia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Cyprus | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Czech Republic | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Denmark | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Djibouti | Native | No | |||
| Egypt | Native | No | |||
| Equatorial Guinea | Native | No | |||
| Eritrea | Native | No | |||
| Estonia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Ethiopia | Native | No | |||
| Faroe Islands (to Denmark) | Native | No | |||
| Finland | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| France | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Gabon | Native | No | |||
| Gambia | Native | No | |||
| Georgia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Germany | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Ghana | Native | No | |||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Greece | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Guinea | Native | No | |||
| Guinea-Bissau | Native | No | |||
| Hong Kong (China) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Hungary | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Iceland | Vagrant | No | |||
| India | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Iraq | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Ireland | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Israel | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Italy | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Jordan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Kazakhstan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Kenya | Native | No | |||
| Kuwait | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Kyrgyzstan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Latvia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Lebanon | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Lesotho | Native | No | |||
| Liberia | Native | No | |||
| Libya | Native | No | |||
| Liechtenstein | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Lithuania | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Luxembourg | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Malawi | Native | No | |||
| Maldives | Native | No | |||
| Mali | Native | No | |||
| Malta | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Mauritania | Native | No | |||
| Moldova | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Mongolia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Montenegro | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Morocco | Native | No | |||
| Mozambique | Native | No | |||
| Namibia | Native | No | |||
| Nepal | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Netherlands | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Niger | Native | No | |||
| Nigeria | Native | No | |||
| Norway | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Oman | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Pakistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Palestinian Authority Territories | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Poland | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Portugal | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Qatar | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Romania | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Russia (Asian) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Russia (Central Asian) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Russia (European) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Rwanda | Native | No | |||
| Saudi Arabia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Senegal | Native | No | |||
| Serbia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Seychelles | Vagrant | No | |||
| Sierra Leone | Native | No | |||
| Slovakia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Slovenia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Somalia | Vagrant | No | |||
| South Africa | Native | No | |||
| South Sudan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Spain | Native | No | Yes | ||
| St Helena (to UK) | Vagrant | No | |||
| St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) | Vagrant | No | Yes | ||
| Sudan | Native | No | |||
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Swaziland | Native | No | |||
| Sweden | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Switzerland | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Syria | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Tajikistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Tanzania | Native | No | |||
| Togo | Native | No | |||
| Tunisia | Native | No | |||
| Turkey | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Turkmenistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Uganda | Native | No | |||
| Ukraine | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| United Arab Emirates | Native | No | Yes | ||
| United Kingdom | Native | No | Yes | ||
| USA | Vagrant | No | |||
| Uzbekistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Western Sahara | Native | No | |||
| Yemen | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Zambia | Native | No | |||
| Zimbabwe | Native | No |
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 | breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland | suitable | non-breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane | suitable | breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Dry | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Dry | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | non-breeding |
| Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) | major | breeding | |
| Savanna | Dry | suitable | breeding |
| Savanna | Dry | suitable | non-breeding |
| Shrubland | Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation | suitable | non-breeding |
| Shrubland | Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | 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 (2013) Species factsheet: Apus apus. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2013.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2013.
This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.
To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife
To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Current IUCN Red List category | Least Concern |
| Family | Apodidae (Swifts) |
| Species name author | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| Population size | mature individuals |
| Population trend | Decreasing |
| Distribution size (breeding/resident) | 9,560,000 km2 |
| Country endemic? | No |
| Links to further information | |
| - Summary information on this species | |
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