Swifts (Apus apus) are birds that can be seen flying at high speeds and screaming as they fly in these summer months, as they catch flies in the Cabragh Wetlands. They are experts at this and parent swifts returning with food for their young reveal a large bulge below the beak due to a mass of insects packed into the throat pouch glued together in saliva.
The family scientific name, Apodidae, comes Ancient Greek, meaning "without feet", since swifts have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead on vertical surfaces. This is because it would be too difficult, if not impossible, for swifts to take off from the ground due to their short legs. Due to this swifts even sleep and mate on the wing. Swifts have a worldwide distribution in tropical and temperate areas, but like swallows and martins, the swifts of temperate regions are strongly migratory and winter in the tropics.
Swifts have a characteristic shape, with a short forked tail and very long swept-back wings that resemble a boomerang. They are all dark apart from a whitish chin. Swifts use the same nest year after year, merely adding fresh material. This is caught in the air. As a result, building is erratic being most frequent when there is sufficient wind to sweep suitable material into the air. The nest is glued to a vertical surface with saliva, which is the basis for bird's nest soup.
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