Description:

Large rakish swift with long, deeply forked tail and sharply pointed wings. Black-brown mantle, outer wing, lesser coverts, tail, crown and underparts beneath small off-white throat patch; slightly paler inner wing, greater coverts of underwing, forehead and rump. Juvenile very black, with little contrast between tracts.

Distribution:

Common summer visitor and passage migrant through all the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan. Wide range of habitats from arid steppe, deserts to forests, mainly mountains, but may forage over virtually any habitat. Normally at 1500-3300m.

Behavior:

Usually forages high, but will feed at low levels, especially during inclement weather. Will feed at night either where lights attract insects or even in total darkness. Prey is usually small insects, while avoiding stinging insects. Generally diet mostly consist of insects and spiders.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Common Swift in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Common Swift

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.