House Swifts (Apus Affinis)

A huge congregation of swifts was over my hill today.

These little fellows are fast. Real fast. There is a good reason why they are called swifts. They are the sprinters of the bird world. They never keep still. So I guess they would more accurately be the marathon sprinters of the bird world.

For some reason they love to fly in the rain! This is not the first time I've observed them flying in heavy rain.

Even the pro's have trouble photographing them because they are so small and fast! Photo from here.

They have a distinctive wing shape which makes them easy to identify, they are like little spear-heads. These little guys also have bits of white on their otherwise all black bodies - on their throat and the top of their backs. They are only 14-15cm long from beak to tail, so they are quite small. I worry about them flying about in lightening and thunder, but I guess they know what they are doing! (It's a mystery to me!). I suppose they are very tough and brave little birds as they are the only ones I see flying in lightening storms. Most birds take shelter long before the rain starts and are no where to be found when its pouring down.

Sometimes they fly close to my window, within 2 metres and I get a very quick close-up glimpse of them. Happiness!