The Swift is a medium-sized aerial bird, which is a superb flyer. Sleeping, eating, bathing and even mating on the wing (while flying), Swifts rarely touch the ground. They are also the fastest birds in level flight, with an impressive top speed of 69mph. Swifts are plain sooty brown, with a white throat, but in flight against the sky they appear black. They have curved wings and a forked tail. Swifts are summer visitors, breeding across the UK, but are most numerous in the south and east. Spending their winters in Africa, Swifts migrate more than 6,000 miles twice a year, stopping off to refuel in places like Portugal and France along the way.
Swifts have red conservation status in the UK. I didn't think that we had swifts in Australia, but we do. Australia is home to three regular swift species:
• Fork-tailed Swift: A summer migrant that breeds in eastern Asia and spends the warmer months (October to April) scattered across Australia.
White-throated Needletail : This is another non-breeding summer migrant from Asia that favours eastern Australia.
Australian Swiftlet: Unlike the migratory swifts, this is a resident species found year-round in the tropical lowlands and gorges of northeast Queensland
The two picture books about swifts are both beautifully illustrated and factual, but they are not Australian or set in Australia.
Follow the swifts on their incredible journey north, from the jungles of Africa to their nesting site in Europe. A little bird, small enough to sit in the palm of your hand. Swifts may be small and brown, but they are the champions of the bird world – flying faster, higher and for longer than any other bird! This is one of the wonderful series of Nature Storybooks from Walker Publishers.
Swift feels safe tucked up in his nest. But when all the other birds fly to a new home on the other side of the world, Swift doesn't want to be left behind. It's a treacherous journey across land and sea and there's a storm coming ... Will Swift find the courage to spread his wings?
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