62. Alpine Swift

Swifts are the undisputed masters of the air. While they don't hold the world record for speed (the Peregrine Falcon has that), yet swifts are so good at flying that sometimes they don't bother landing - for years! So they eat, sleep and even mate on the wing. In the past, people believed that swifts don't even have legs, hence the Latin name (Apus = no leg) that has stuck even though today we know better. Of the three species of swift that whizz over Malta every year, the Alpine Swift (M: Rundun Zaqqu Bajda) is the largest. The bird is easy to tell from the other two because of its fleecy white underside. These past days, quite a few Alpines graced our skies with their acrobatics.

Text by Victor Falzon.

Copyright to Birdlife Malta.