Apus horus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The Horus swift (Apus horus) is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae that is found in sub-Saharan Africa. Horus, whose name this bird commemorates, was the ancient Egyptian god of the sun, son of Osiris and Isis. The Horus swift was formally described in 1869 by the German explorer and ornithologist Theodor von Heuglin under the binomial name Cypselus horus. The specific epithet is from Ancient Egyptian mythology: Horus was the god of the sun. This species is now one of 20 swifts placed in the genus Apus that was introduced in 1777 by the Italian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli. The species is treated as monotypic.
The Horus swift is 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in) long and quite bulky. It appears entirely blackish except for a white patch on the chin and a white rump. It has a medium length forked tail. It has a fluttering flight like little swift. The little swift has a square tail, and more extensive white on the rump than Horus, and white-rumped swift has a more deeply forked tail and a narrower white band... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 3 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 4 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 14 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 15 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 16 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 17 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 18 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 19 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 20 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 21 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 22 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Horus Swift sighting in De Hoop Nature Reserve on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 144th most-seen of the 189 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Horus Swift in De Hoop Nature Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in May, July–October and December–March, the lowest months. June has too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Horus Swift sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 22 parks where we can rate Horus Swift sightings, De Hoop Nature Reserve ranks 5th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Arusha National Park (Tanzania, about 10%), South Luangwa National Park (Zambia, about 10%) and Mana Pools National Park (Zimbabwe, about 10%).
Same genus: Apus
The closest relatives of the Horus Swift that you can see in De Hoop Nature Reserve (genus Apus, Typical Swifts) are White-rumped Swift (about 40%), African Swift (about 20%) and Little Swift (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Horus Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in De Hoop Nature Reserve (20 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
