Swifts Remain Airborne Up to 10 Months at a Time

(Credit: Shutterstock) When a common swift kicks off from its breeding grounds north of the equator to return to more temperate climes, it likely won't touch earth until the following year. Swifts, with their darting movements and high-energy hunting habits seem to be poor candidates for the title of world's longest flyer. But according to a new study by researchers from Sweden's Lund University, the small birds take the record easily, with some staying aloft for up to 10 months at a time. Their research confirms a theory about swifts that has existed since the 1970s, when ornithologist Ronald Lockley hypothesized that the birds may simply never touch down after they fly south for the winter. Recognition of the swifts' endurance goes back even further, however — their species name apus means "footless" in Greek and depictions of the birds from Medieval times often showed them without any legs at all.