Common Swift: The Bird That Lives 10 Months Airborne, Redefining Endurance

• Scientists confirm common swifts can stay airborne for up to ten months, a record for sustained flight.
• Lund University research used miniature trackers on swifts in Sweden, revealing they are airborne 99% of the year.
• Swifts eat, mate, and collect nesting materials mid-air, with streamlined bodies and efficient wings for extreme flight.
• They perform twilight ascents to nearly two miles high, possibly sleeping while gliding during continuous flight.
• Despite their endurance, swifts face threats from declining insect populations due to climate change and pesticides, and loss of nesting sites.

Why It Matters: The common swift redefines avian endurance with 10-month continuous flight, but faces severe conservation threats.