Overview
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.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Countries
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Angola
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Denmark
- DR Congo
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- India
- Iran
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kosovo
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Malta
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Namibia
- Nepal
- North Macedonia
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- San Marino
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Uzbekistan
- Vatican City
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Alpine swift
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.

