Description

A bird with sickle-shaped wings, resembling a large swallow, and observed almost always in flight. Although easily distinguishable from swallows and martins, the Pallid Swift can easily be confused with the Common Swift in poor light conditions, which often leads to the misidentification of the birds. The rounded wingtip, the scaly belly, the sharp contrast between primaries and secondaries, the brownish "café au lait" plumage and the evident white throat patch are the main characteristics that distinguish the Pallid Swift from the Common Swift. The subtle differences between juvenile and adult plumages make it difficult to assign ages to individuals in flight. This species has no sexual dimorphism.