Found a swift on the ground? Here's what to do (and why you can't wait)

Every summer, between June and August, thousands of people find common swifts on the ground. It's one of the wild animals most frequently brought into rescue centres — and also one where common mistakes cause the most damage.

The first thing to know is this: if a swift is on the ground, it always needs help. It isn't resting, it hasn't stopped to warm up. Physically, it cannot take off from a flat surface — its wings are built for high-speed flight at 60–80 km/h cruise speed, not for ground launch.

Its scientific name says it clearly: Apus apus, from the Greek for "without feet." Its legs are so small and so far back on its body that they're only useful for clinging inside nest cavities.

How to tell if it's an adult or a juvenile

The distinction helps you understand what care it needs:

• Adult: the folded wings cross over the back and extend 2–3 cm beyond the tail. All dark brownish-black with a slightly paler chin.
• Juvenile (July–August): wings don't reach past the tail; the forehead edge is brilliant white, much more prominent than in adults.

In both cases the behaviour is the same: they can't fly from the ground.

The launch test (adults only)

If you've found an adult swift with no visible injuries that is responsive (looking at you, trying to grip), you can try this: take it somewhere open — a first-floor balcony or higher, or an open field — hold it on your open fingers about one metre off the ground, and release it gently angled slightly upward.

If it's healthy, it will fly away within seconds.

If it falls back, or if you have any doubt at all, don't try again. It needs a wildlife rescue centre.

Do not attempt the launch test with juveniles: they need specialist feeding and care.

How to keep it while waiting for the rescue centre

Put it in a cardboard box with ventilation holes. The box must be wide enough that the wings don't hit the sides — every impact can damage the flight feathers, and without intact feathers it will never fly again.

Never use a birdcage. The bars break feathers irreversibly.

Ideal temperature: 20–22°C, no warmer. Don't leave it in direct sunlight.

For water: don't put a bowl in the box (it can drown). You can put a few drops on the edge of its beak with a damp finger, but only if it's conscious and responsive.

Don't try to feed it without instructions from the rescue centre. Swifts eat only live insects in very specific proportions. Incorrect feeding causes permanent damage within 24 hours.

How much time do you have?

Not much. Swifts regulate their own temperature but they're small, and in summer they overheat quickly on concrete or tarmac. Keep it cool and contact a rescue centre the same day — ideally within a few hours.

Something worth knowing

The swift you see in the sky in summer never lands — not even at night. It sleeps on the wing, with only half its brain asleep at a time. A young swift, when it leaves the nest for the first time and heads south to Africa, may not touch any surface for almost two years — until it returns to Europe for its first breeding season.

It is probably the most flight-adapted bird in existence. A single swift over its lifetime may fly more than two million kilometres.

Is it protected?

Yes. All wild birds in Italy are protected under Law 157/1992 and the European Birds Directive. It is illegal to disturb nests, remove them, or damage them — even those in private buildings. If you live in a building being renovated between April and August, the building management is legally required not to interfere with swift nest holes during the breeding season.