#1177 · 🐦 birds
Little Swift
🇳🇱 Huisgierzwaluw ·Apus affinis
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Niall Perrins · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Ernest Porter · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Agustín Povedano · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 4. © Derek Keats · CC BY 4.0
- 5. © Jerry Oldenettel · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 6. © Paul Cools · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. © Ashit Gandhi · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. © Ashit Gandhi · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. © copper · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. © Ian White · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
what is it?
The little swift ( Apus affinis ), is a small bird, superficially similar to a barn swallow or house martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles. The former eastern race, house swift, is usually considered a separate species, Apus nipalensis .
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 3,937 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named by John Edward Gray in 1830 (196 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Little Swift
- Nederlands
- Huisgierzwaluw
- scientific name
- Apus affinis
- class
- Aves
- order
- Apodiformes
- family
- Apodidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings in Europe
- 326
- sightings worldwide
- 3,937
- GBIF records in NL
- 167
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1830 by John Edward Gray
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Apodidae
#0635 📷 9Common Swift
🇳🇱 Gierzwaluw
Apus apus
LC 👀 400 in NL
#0927 📷 10Pallid Swift
🇳🇱 Vale Gierzwaluw
Apus pallidus
LC 👀 4 in NL
#0995 📷 10Alpine Swift
🇳🇱 Alpengierzwaluw
Tachymarptis melba
LC 👀 1 in NL
#1218 📷 10White-rumped Swift
🇳🇱 Pijlstaartgierzwaluw
Apus caffer
LC 🌍 1.2k seen
#1229 📷 10Plain Swift
🇳🇱 Madeiragierzwaluw
Apus unicolor
LC 🌍 675 seen
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 6612, Wikidata Q611324, GBIF 5228662, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.