- published: 13 Apr 2016
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The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae.
The resemblances between swifts and swallows are due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar life styles based on catching insects in flight.
The family scientific name comes from the Ancient Greek απους, apous, meaning "without feet", since swifts have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, clinging instead to vertical surfaces. The tradition of depicting swifts without feet continued into the Middle Ages, as seen in the heraldic martlet.
Swifts are the most aerial of birds. Larger species are amongst the fastest fliers in the animal kingdom, with the White-throated Needletail having been reported flying at up to 169 km/h. Even the Common Swift cruises at 5 to 14 metres per second (18–50 km/h, 11–31 mph).[citation needed] In a single year the common swift can cover at least 200,000 km.
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of fourteen to pursue a career in country music. She signed to the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of Swift's self-titled debut album in 2006 established her as a country music star. "Our Song", her third single, made her the youngest sole writer and singer of a number one song on the country chart. She received a Best New Artist nomination at the 50th Grammy Awards.
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