Common swifts are aerial insectivores that spend almost their entire lives in flight, but their colonies face mounting threats from building renovation and habitat loss.
Swifts that lose their nesting sites cannot easily relocate and may fail to breed entirely. Renovation of old buildings without swift-proofing provisions destroys colonies that have used sites for generations. Young swifts grounded before fledging face near-certain death without specialist intervention. Colony collapse affects social bonds, as swifts form long-term pair bonds and return year after year to the same location.