Listen to the Alpine swift
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Alpine swift
The Alpine swift is a bird in the family Apodidae (order Apodiformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults weigh around 96 g.
What does the Alpine swift sound like?
Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once. Songs tend to be long and patterned and are used to hold territory and attract a mate; calls are short signals for contact, alarm and flight.
The recordings here are labelled as flight call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba) is a species of swift found in Africa, southern Europe, and Asia. They breed in mountains from southern Europe to the Himalayas. Like common swifts, they are migratory; the southern European population winters further south in southern Africa. They have very short legs which are used for clinging to vertical surfaces. Like most swifts, they never settle voluntarily on the ground, spending most of their lives in the air living on the insects they catch in their beaks.
More from the family Apodidae
Frequently asked questions
What does an Alpine swift sound like?
You can hear 1 recording of the Alpine swift on this page, including its flight call. Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once.
Is the Alpine swift endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Alpine swift as “least concern”.
What family does the Alpine swift belong to?
The Alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba) belongs to the family Apodidae in the order Apodiformes.
Sources & credits
- Flight call · Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Decentralized… by tsilianidis saky – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q321267 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Alpine swift – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Lefteris Stavrakas – CC BY-SA 2.0