Birds
Common Swift
Apus apus · Drepnea neagră
A dark, sickle-winged bird that spends almost its whole life in the air.
At a glance
- Status in Romania
- Summer visitor
- Habitat
- Urban / Mountain
- Activity
- Morning · Daytime · Evening
- Diet
- Almost exclusively insects caught in flight, often hunting in groups.
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)
- Photography difficulty
- Difficult
Photography Guide
Practical starting points based on the species’ behaviour and habitat, not fixed rules.
- Where and how to look
- Old town centres and cliffs on summer evenings.
- Best time / activity
- Morning · Daytime · Evening
- Photography difficulty
- Difficult
- Starting shutter speed
- 1/3200 sec or faster.
- Ethics
- Keep well back from colonies and nests on buildings or banks; never block flight paths to the nest.
Identification
All dark brown with a pale throat, long scythe-shaped wings and a short forked tail.
Habitat
A very wide range of habitats, including human settlements; nests in buildings and on cliffs.
Distribution
Patchy across the country, tied to settlements and cliffs.
Approximate range in Romania
Diet
Almost exclusively insects caught in flight, often hunting in groups.
Behaviour
Screaming groups race around rooftops on summer evenings.
Seasonality in Romania
A migratory breeding species in Romania. Generally arrives from April and leaves for the wintering grounds in August.
- JanUnknown
- FebUnknown
- MarUnknown
- AprPresent
- MayPresent
- JunPresent
- JulPresent
- AugPresent
- SepUnknown
- OctUnknown
- NovUnknown
- DecUnknown
Source-verified months inform the seasonal filters. Local timing can vary. Unconfirmed months do not imply absence. * Event timing retained from the earlier entry, not yet source-verified.
Breeding
Breeds from late May to July; 1–4 eggs incubated by both parents.