Salim Ali's Swift

Open encyclopedia reference

Salim Ali's swift (Apus salimalii) is a small bird, superficially similar to a house martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles. These birds have very short legs which they use only for clinging to vertical surfaces, almost never settling voluntarily on the ground. The scientific name of their genus comes from the Greek απους, apous, meaning "without feet". Salim Ali's swifts spend most of their lives in the air, living on the insects they catch in their beaks. Salim Ali's swifts breed from the eastern Tibetan Plateau eastwards through western Sichuan province. This species is migratory; however, its wintering range is unknown. This swift is longer tailed and has a narrower white rump compared to other species in the complex. A 2011 study split this species from the fork-tailed swift complex, with many taxomonists recognizing it as a full species. These swifts build their nests on cliffs, laying 2 or 3 eggs.

Wikipedia contributors, Salim Ali's swift; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:09:30.717962+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Apus salimalii Lack, 1958

Name authority

Lack, 1958

Common name

Salim Ali's Swift

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Apodiformes

Family

Apodidae

Genus

Apus

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderApodiformes
10. familyApodidae
11. subfamilyApodinae
12. genusApus Scopoli, 1777
13. speciesApus salimalii Lack, 1958

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Apus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 90 records assigned to Apodidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1149403 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:8K3MH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.