RSPB Spotlight Swifts and Swallows

The RSPB Spotlight series introduces a selection of iconic UK wildlife to the general reader. This latest title focuses upon the swallow and the swift, two well known birds that, although unrelated, are often combined—and, indeed, confused—in the popular imagination.

Traditional heralds of the European summer, swallows and swifts have many things in common. Both feed on aerial insects and are thus similarly adapted for an aerial lifestyle, with long wings, aerodynamic bodies, and fast agile ...