[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":253},["ShallowReactive",2],{"families_en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye":3,"alt-locale:families_en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye":108,"section-listing:families_en:\u002Fsemeystva":109,"section-listing:disabled":246,"related-covers:en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Flastochkovye|\u002Fsemeystva|\u002Fopredelitel":247},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"coverImage":68,"description":69,"extension":70,"faq":71,"imagePrompt":81,"latinName":20,"meta":82,"navigation":83,"order":84,"pageType":85,"path":86,"publishedAt":87,"readingMinutes":88,"relatedLinks":89,"seo":102,"sitemap":105,"stem":106,"taxonRank":85,"updatedAt":84,"__hash__":107},"families_en\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye.md","Swifts (Apodidae)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":60},"minimark",[9,14,22,25,29,32,35,39,53,57],[10,11,13],"h2",{"id":12},"what-makes-apodidae-a-family","What makes Apodidae a family",[15,16,17,21],"p",{},[18,19,20],"strong",{},"Apodidae",", the swift family, comprises around 100 species found across most of the world, unified by an extraordinarily thorough adaptation to life in the air. Members share long, narrow, backward-swept wings built for fast, sustained, highly efficient flight, and extremely small, weak legs and feet — a trait so pronounced that the family's scientific name derives from a Greek word meaning \"without feet,\" reflecting how completely swifts have specialized away from any need to walk, perch, or stand on flat ground.",[15,23,24],{},"Despite occupying a very similar ecological role to swallows and martins, and showing a broadly similar wing shape and aerial hunting style, swifts belong to an entirely separate branch of the bird family tree — genetic evidence places them far closer to hummingbirds than to any songbird, making the resemblance to swallows a striking example of convergent evolution rather than shared ancestry.",[10,26,28],{"id":27},"distinctive-traits-across-the-family","Distinctive traits across the family",[15,30,31],{},"Swifts take aerial specialization further than almost any other bird family, with documented behavior including feeding, drinking, gathering nest material, and resting through brief periods of partial sleep, all carried out while airborne. Some species, including the common swift, are known from tracking studies to remain continuously in flight for months at a time outside the breeding season, touching a solid surface only when returning to nest.",[15,33,34],{},"This extreme lifestyle comes with a corresponding vulnerability: because swift legs are so poorly adapted for anything beyond clinging to a vertical surface, a swift that ends up grounded on flat, open terrain can struggle seriously to become airborne again, a real hazard for a family that otherwise thrives specifically by avoiding solid ground almost entirely.",[10,36,38],{"id":37},"species-in-this-family","Species in this family",[15,40,41,42,47,48,52],{},"This atlas currently covers one member of Apodidae: the ",[43,44,46],"a",{"href":45},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fcherny-strizh","common swift"," (",[49,50,51],"em",{},"Apus apus","), famous for spending nearly its entire life airborne and for its screaming aerial display flights around rooftops on summer evenings. Further Apodidae species native to the atlas's covered regions will be added to the catalogue over time.",[10,54,56],{"id":55},"where-and-when-to-watch-this-family","Where and when to watch this family",[15,58,59],{},"Towns and cities with older buildings offering suitable nesting cavities, along with open airspace above farmland and water where flying insects concentrate, are the best places to look for swifts, though because the family spends so little time near the ground, sightings are almost always of birds moving fast overhead rather than perched or resting. Given how brief the common swift's presence on its breeding grounds is, summer offers a narrow but reliable window in which to see and hear this family's characteristic high-speed screaming flight displays around rooftops at dusk.",{"title":61,"searchDepth":62,"depth":62,"links":63},"",2,[64,65,66,67],{"id":12,"depth":62,"text":13},{"id":27,"depth":62,"text":28},{"id":37,"depth":62,"text":38},{"id":55,"depth":62,"text":56},"\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye.png","The swift family: extreme aerial specialists that spend nearly their entire lives in flight, closer in ancestry to hummingbirds than to the swallows they superficially resemble.","md",[72,75,78],{"q":73,"a":74},"Why is the swift family's scientific name, Apodidae, derived from a word meaning 'without feet'?","The name reflects the family's extremely reduced, weak legs and feet, adapted almost entirely for clinging to a vertical surface near a nest entrance rather than for walking, perching, or standing, a specialization so extreme relative to most other birds that early naturalists effectively regarded swifts as functionally footless — a slight exaggeration, but one that captures just how thoroughly the family has adapted toward a life spent almost entirely in the air.",{"q":76,"a":77},"How is Apodidae related to swallows, given how similar they look?","Despite occupying a very similar ecological role and showing broadly similar wing shape and flight style, swifts are not closely related to swallows at all — genetic evidence places Apodidae much closer to hummingbirds than to any songbird family, making the resemblance between swifts and swallows one of the clearest examples of convergent evolution among European birds, where two unrelated groups independently evolved similar solutions to the same aerial-hunting lifestyle.",{"q":79,"a":80},"What makes swifts more extreme aerial specialists than swallows or martins?","While swallows and martins also spend a great deal of time in flight, they still perch, walk short distances, and rest on solid surfaces regularly. Swifts take aerial living considerably further, feeding, drinking, gathering nesting material, and even resting on the wing, with some individuals documented remaining continuously airborne for many months at a stretch outside the breeding season.","Photorealistic nature photo, a small screaming party of common swifts chasing each other in fast, banking flight around old town rooftops at dusk, dark scythe-winged silhouettes against a warm pastel evening sky, soft-focus rooftops and chimney pots below, warm dusk light with a faint glow on the horizon, 16:9",{},true,null,"family","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye","13.07.2026",1,[90,94,98],{"label":91,"path":92,"description":93},"Swallows and Martins (Hirundinidae)","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Flastochkovye","A superficially similar but unrelated aerial insect-hunting family",{"label":95,"path":96,"description":97},"Bird families","\u002Fsemeystva","Species grouped by taxonomic family",{"label":99,"path":100,"description":101},"Bird identifier","\u002Fopredelitel","Identify a bird you've seen by color, size, beak shape, habitat, and season",{"title":103,"description":104},"Swifts (Apodidae) — traits, species, and life in the air","Apodidae, the swift family: extreme aerial specialists related to hummingbirds rather than swallows, spending nearly their entire lives in flight. Traits and species.",{"loc":86},"semeystva\u002Fstrizhinye","zIljy8iRP4idTB33YJgIfhHhCe-Gx6XMaXbbFB37xmY",{"ru":83,"es":83},[110,115,120,125,130,135,141,146,151,156,161,166,171,176,181,186,191,197,202,207,210,211,216,221,226,231,236,241],{"title":111,"description":112,"path":113,"coverImage":114,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Buntings (Emberizidae)","The bunting family: sturdy, seed-eating farmland and open-country songbirds represented here by the vividly yellow-headed yellowhammer, one of Europe's most familiar hedgerow singers.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fovsyankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fovsyankovye.png",{"title":116,"description":117,"path":118,"coverImage":119,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Crows, Ravens, and Allies (Corvidae)","The crow family: some of the most intelligent birds on Earth, from the tiny, sociable jackdaw to the giant common raven, united by cognitive sophistication and remarkable behavioral flexibility.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvranovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvranovye.png",{"title":121,"description":122,"path":123,"coverImage":124,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Cuckoos (Cuculidae)","The cuckoo family: slender, long-tailed birds best known for the common cuckoo's remarkable brood-parasitic lifestyle, tricking other species into raising its young.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fkukushkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fkukushkovye.png",{"title":126,"description":127,"path":128,"coverImage":129,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Falcons (Falconidae)","The falcon family: fast, direct-flying birds of prey with a distinctive hooked, tomial-toothed beak, found on every continent except Antarctica.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsokolinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsokolinye.png",{"title":131,"description":132,"path":133,"coverImage":134,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Finches (Fringillidae)","The true finch family: small, seed-eating songbirds with conical beaks ranging from the everyday chaffinch to the specialized, cone-prying red crossbill.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvjurkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvjurkovye.png",{"title":136,"description":137,"path":138,"coverImage":139,"publishedAt":140,"order":84},"Grebes (Podicipedidae)","The grebe family: highly specialized freshwater diving birds with lobed toes, elaborate courtship displays, and chicks that ride on their parents' backs while swimming.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpogankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpogankovye.png","07.08.2026",{"title":142,"description":143,"path":144,"coverImage":145,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Gulls (Laridae)","The gull family: adaptable, highly social waterbirds ranging from the small, brown-hooded black-headed gull to the larger, plain-billed common gull, equally at home on coasts and inland waters.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye.png",{"title":147,"description":148,"path":149,"coverImage":150,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Hawks, Eagles, and Kites (Accipitridae)","The largest family of diurnal birds of prey, spanning soaring buzzards, forest-hunting goshawks, massive fish eagles, and scavenging kites united by a hooked beak and taloned feet.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye.png",{"title":152,"description":153,"path":154,"coverImage":155,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Herons (Ardeidae)","The heron family: patient, statuesque wetland hunters with a coiled S-shaped neck and dagger-like bill, epitomized by the grey heron's motionless watch at the water's edge.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftsaplevye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftsaplevye.png",{"title":157,"description":158,"path":159,"coverImage":160,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Hoopoes (Upupidae)","A small family built around a single unmistakable species, the Eurasian hoopoe, known for its fan-like crest, curved probing beak, and unusual glandular nest defenses.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fudodovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fudodovye.png",{"title":162,"description":163,"path":164,"coverImage":165,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Larks (Alaudidae)","The lark family: streaked, ground-nesting birds of open farmland and grassland, best known for the extraordinary sustained soaring song-flight of the Eurasian skylark.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fzhavoronkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fzhavoronkovye.png",{"title":167,"description":168,"path":169,"coverImage":170,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Old World Flycatchers and Chats (Muscicapidae)","A family spanning the beloved orange-breasted robin, the vocally legendary nightingale, and the acrobatic pied flycatcher, unified more by ancestry and insect-catching habits than by appearance.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye.png",{"title":172,"description":173,"path":174,"coverImage":175,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Old World Orioles (Oriolidae)","A family of brilliantly colored but famously shy canopy songbirds, represented in Europe by the golden oriole, a bird more often identified by its fluting song than by sight.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fivolgovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fivolgovye.png",{"title":177,"description":178,"path":179,"coverImage":180,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Old World Sparrows (Passeridae)","The Old World sparrow family: small, sociable, seed-eating birds closely tied to human settlement, from the familiar house sparrow to its quieter, farmland-favoring relative the tree sparrow.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvorobyinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvorobyinye.png",{"title":182,"description":183,"path":184,"coverImage":185,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)","The pigeon family: stout-bodied, small-headed birds fed on crop milk as chicks, spanning the city-adapted rock dove and wood pigeon to the increasingly rare, long-distance migrant turtle dove.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fgolubinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fgolubinye.png",{"title":187,"description":188,"path":189,"coverImage":190,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Plovers and Lapwings (Charadriidae)","The plover family: compact, large-eyed waders with short bills adapted for visual foraging, from the crested, iridescent northern lapwing to its smaller and plainer relatives.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Frzhankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Frzhankovye.png",{"title":192,"description":193,"path":194,"coverImage":195,"publishedAt":196,"order":84},"Rails, Crakes, and Coots (Rallidae)","The rail family: laterally flattened marsh specialists built for slipping through dense reed beds, ranging from the secretive corncrake to the bold, aggressive Eurasian coot.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpastushkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpastushkovye.png","17.08.2026",{"title":198,"description":199,"path":200,"coverImage":201,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Starlings (Sturnidae)","The starling family: gregarious, iridescent, highly vocal songbirds represented in Europe by the common starling and its spectacular winter murmurations.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fskvorcovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fskvorcovye.png",{"title":203,"description":204,"path":205,"coverImage":206,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Storks (Ciconiidae)","The stork family: massive, long-legged wading birds with long straight bills, epitomized by the white stork's huge rooftop nests and dramatic overland migration to Africa.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Faistovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Faistovye.png",{"title":91,"description":208,"path":92,"coverImage":209,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"The swallow family: sleek, long-winged aerial insect-hunters that spend most of their waking lives on the wing, from the red-throated barn swallow to the white-rumped house martin.","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Flastochkovye.png",{"title":5,"description":69,"path":86,"coverImage":68,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},{"title":212,"description":213,"path":214,"coverImage":215,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Sylvia Warblers (Sylviidae)","A family of small, plainly plumaged, densely-vegetation-loving warblers prized far more for their voices than their looks, exemplified by the richly singing Eurasian blackcap.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fslavkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fslavkovye.png",{"title":217,"description":218,"path":219,"coverImage":220,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Thrushes (Turdidae)","The thrush family: medium-sized, powerful-singing ground foragers, from the glossy black common blackbird to the heavily spotted song thrush and the gregarious, flocking fieldfare.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdrozdovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdrozdovye.png",{"title":222,"description":223,"path":224,"coverImage":225,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Tits (Paridae)","The tit family: small, acrobatic, cavity-nesting songbirds from the bold, dominant great tit to the tiny, cache-obsessed coal tit, among the most familiar and intensively studied garden birds in Europe.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsinitsevye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsinitsevye.png",{"title":227,"description":228,"path":229,"coverImage":230,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Typical Owls (Strigidae)","The largest owl family, spanning the familiar tawny owl, tufted long-eared owl, and the giant Eurasian eagle-owl, united by forward-facing eyes, silent flight, and mostly nocturnal habits.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsovinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsovinye.png",{"title":232,"description":233,"path":234,"coverImage":235,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae)","A family of slender, long-tailed, ground-foraging songbirds best exemplified by the constantly tail-bobbing white wagtail, equally at home beside a river or in a busy town square.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye.png",{"title":237,"description":238,"path":239,"coverImage":240,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Waterfowl (Anatidae)","The waterfowl family: ducks, geese, and swans, unified by webbed feet, waterproof plumage, and a broad flattened bill, from the familiar mallard to the massive mute swan.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Futinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Futinye.png",{"title":242,"description":243,"path":244,"coverImage":245,"publishedAt":87,"order":84},"Woodpeckers (Picidae)","The woodpecker family: powerful, tree-climbing excavators built to hammer into wood, from the widespread black-and-white great spotted woodpecker to the crow-sized black woodpecker.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdyatlovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdyatlovye.png",[],[248,249,251],{"label":91,"path":92,"description":93,"coverImage":209},{"label":95,"path":96,"description":97,"coverImage":250},"\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Findex.png",{"label":99,"path":100,"description":101,"coverImage":252},"\u002Fimages\u002Fopredelitel\u002Findex.png",1787114562247]