BIRD 3

The first thing that may strike you about this bird is that it is almost totally dark blackish-brown (although we can mainly see only the upper surface). Then again, it may have been the long, swept-back, very narrow, sickle shaped wings, with a very short inner wing and much longer outer. These long, slim, swept-back wings in themselves are enough to rule out the hirundines (swallows and martins), which despite being aerial insect catchers and having long wings, have nothing of this scale. The nearly wholly dark plumage (with a hint of a pale throat patch), those long wings, the cigar shaped body and short, forked tail all point to this being a Swift. Swifts are the most aerial of our landbirds, spending most of their lives on the wing.

KEY FEATURES †Long, slim, sickle-shaped wings †Appears all dark blackish-brown †Cigar shaped body, short forked tail †Hint of pale throat patch