Apus pallidus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The pallid swift (Apus pallidus) is a swift (order Apodiformes). Swifts have very short legs which they use only for clinging to vertical surfaces. The genus name Apus is Latin for a swift, thought by the ancients to be a type of swallow with no feet (from Ancient Greek α, a, "without", and πούς, pous, "foot"), and pallidus is Latin for "pale". Like other swifts they never settle voluntarily on the ground, but spend most of their lives in the air, living on the insects they catch in their beaks. They drink on the wing.
The pallid swift was first described by English naturalist George Ernest Shelley in 1870. This 16–17 cm (6.3–6.7 in) long species is very similar to the common swift, and separation is only possible with good views. Like its relative, it has a short forked tail and very long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang.
It is entirely dark except for a large white throat patch which is frequently visible from a distance. It is chunkier and browner than common swift, and the slightly paler flight feathers, underparts and rump give more contrast than that species. It also has a scalier looking belly and subtly different flight... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marrakesh | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 2 | Kuwait City | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | |
| 3 | Dubai | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 4 | Riyadh | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | |
| 5 | Abu Dhabi | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 6 | Luxor | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 7 | Amman | 🇯🇴 Jordan | |
| 8 | Casablanca | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 9 | Fez | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 10 | Tangier | 🇲🇦 Morocco |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Pallid Swift sighting in Barcelona on a given day, based on 108 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 113th most-seen of the 215 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Pallid Swift in Barcelona on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pallid Swift sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
33rd of 36
Of the 36 cities where we can rate Pallid Swift sightings, Barcelona ranks 33rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Marrakesh (Morocco, about 60%), Kuwait City (Kuwait, about 40%) and Dubai (United Arab Emirates, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pallid Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in Barcelona (108 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
