Apus horus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
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 Mana Pools National Park on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 194th most-seen of the 275 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Horus Swift in Mana Pools National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, May and August–October, the lowest months. That is one of Mana Pools National Park's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain against almost none in August. March 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, Mana Pools National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Arusha National Park (Tanzania, about 10%) and South Luangwa National Park (Zambia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Horus Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in Mana Pools National Park (27 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.
