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The Common swift (Apus apus) is a bird found in Sweden, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Netherlands, Denmark, and 3 more countries. Flies over towns and cities across Europe and Asia. It eats insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Common swift lives

Flies over towns and cities across Europe and Asia.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs100%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Common swift

Recorded by Annette Hamann (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC577759. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Common swift

Where does the Common swift live?

The Common swift lives in Sweden, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Netherlands, Denmark, and 3 more countries. Flies over towns and cities across Europe and Asia.

What does the Common swift eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 100%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Common swift endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Europe

• Peregrine Falcon
• Grey Heron
• Common blackbird
• Rock dove
• Eurasian blue tit
• Eurasian chaffinch

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.