Pallid Swift

Apus pallidus

Slightly paler, slightly later, slightly louder than its cousin. Mediterranean rooftops at dusk are full of them.

Population: 800,000-1,499,999 mature individuals globally (2012 est., poor-quality/suspected-stable trend); ~63,200-106,000 breeding pairs in Europe
Habitat: Aerial forager over coastal cliffs, gorges, rocky terrain, and islets around the Mediterranean and Atlantic islands, and increasingly urban areas (forages from sea level to ~2,700m); nests in cave mouths, cliff niches, and building eaves/under roof tiles
Fun fact: GPS tracking of Gibraltar Pallid Swifts found that outside the breeding season some individuals show no indication of ever landing, spending months continuously airborne over Africa.
Range: Breeds around the Mediterranean basin (southern Europe, North Africa, Canary Islands, Madeira) east to the Middle East; migrates to winter mainly in sub-Saharan Africa (BirdLife DataZone specifies sub-Saharan/southern Africa; a Wikipedia mention of "Southeast Asia" wintering is an unsupported outlier)
Diet: Aerial insectivore — catches flying insects and airborne spiders in its beak while on the wing, and drinks in flight
Size: 0.16 m
Wingspan: 0.44 m
Lifespan: 14 years

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