Little Swift

Little Swift (Apus affinis) is a small dark swift with a conspicuous white throat and rump and a square-ended tail. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It hunts flying insects in social flocks and builds feather-lined nests of plant material cemented with saliva under structures or cliffs. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).