Pallid Swift

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Monaco, July 2010

Bird name: Pallid Swift
Latin: Apus pallidus
Other: Martinet pâle (Fr) • Vencejo pálido (Es) • Andorinhão-pálido (Pt) • Rondone pallido (It)
Family: Apodidae • Swifts
Range: Breeds around Med, Canaries etc - migrates to Africa, Asia
Similar: Common Swift

There are a good number of Pallid Swift in Nice and Monaco, but they look very similar to Common Swifts so are hard to differentiate easily. This individual was one of many swifts in a mixed flock that flies near the port throughout the summer in Monaco.

Markers distinguishing Pallid Swifts from Common Swifts include prominent dark “eye-liner”, ribbed chest, whiter neck patch, wide “hips”, shallow-forked tail, P1 primaries (the frontmost flight feather) shorter than P2, giving wing-tips a blunted appearance.