There 3 species in the U.K. which can easily be confused with Swifts:

• Swallows
• House Martins and
• Sand Martins

The last of these, as the name suggests, nest in sandy river banks so are rarely seen in North Nibley.

So, how do you tell a Swift from a Swallow from a House Martin?

• Swallows can be recognised by their deeply forked tails – known as ‘streamers – although these are not so long in young birds:

• House Martins are most easily recognised from the white patch on their ‘rump’ (the base of their back) although care needs to be taken as both House Martins and Swallows have pale undersides.

• Swifts are much larger than the other two species (about twice the size) although this can be hard to judge when they are usually seen in the sky: is it bigger or is it just further away?
• So, the best way to recognise a Swift is by the fact that it is uniform brown in colour and lacks the distinguishing features of the other two: it has a forked tail but lacks the streamers of the swallow and it doesn’t have the white rump of the House Martin.
• A further clue is what the bird is doing: if you see a bird collecting mud on the ground or perching on a telegraph wire that is NOT a swift. Swifts cannot land on the ground or perch!

Illustrations taken from The Collins Bird Guide (2nd Edition)

Lars Svensson et al (Collins, London 2017)

ISBN 978-0-00-726814-6