WHAT IS SWIFT BIRDS ACTUALLY?
The swifts are a type of bird from the family of Apodidae family (species of highly flying birds). Most people assume that swift bird is in the same species of swallow bird. Although they are superficially similar in term of features and anatomy, the truth is they are not closely related to any of the passerine species which includes more than half of all bird species that features three pointing forward, their own unique toes and one back. That facilitates the perching of a bird. Swifts are actually placed in the order Apodiformes in which they share with hummingbirds. Apodiformes as their name "footless" in Greek which suggests their legs are small and have limited function aside from perching. The feet are covered with bare skin rather than the scales (scutes) that other birds have and another shared characteristic is long wings with short, stout humerus bones. In the heraldic martlet, it shows that depicting swifts without feet continued into the Middle Ages. Then, similarities between swifts and swallows can be reflected with the similar life styles based on catching insects in flight. Meanwhile, the Treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but from a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae.
Common swift, Apus
apus
FACT : Some species of swifts are among the FASTEST animals on the planet, with some of the fastest measured flight speeds of any bird.
REFERENCES:
1. Jobling (2010) pp.
50–51.
2. Kaufman
(2001) p. 329.
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