The Alpine swift can stay aloft for more than 6 months at a time – longest non-stop flight pattern known of in the avian world. The bird glides along on a nearly 22-inch wingspan and sleeps and eats while airborne. Their diet consists of aerial plankton, bugs and spiders that are swept into the sky by high winds. The birds are able to skim lakes and rivers while in flight for liquids.
Swiss researchers tagged six Alpine swifts with light-sensitive and movement data monitors, starting from their breeding grounds in Switzerland. The birds spent the next year flying south, hanging out in western Africa and heading back north, with a pit stop in northern Africa and Spain, before returning to Switzerland.
While migrating south to Africa the birds would stop occasionally. But once they reached their wintering site, landing wasn’t part of the plan. The data showed that these birds stayed aloft for 200 days.
Picture Credit : Google
