Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
Lost & Found
BBC Wildlife
|September 2023
COMMON SWIFTS ARE A FAMILIAR FIXTURE of our summer skies, but there are a number of rarer species in this bird family that visit as occasional vagrants from afar.
VAGRANT SPECIES DIARY Pacific swift, Shetland
Three of these show a common feature that is lacking in our own common swift (in all but a tiny handful of aberrantly plumaged individuals) - a white rump that stands out a mile on an essentially otherwise dark-looking bird. For the avid rarity hunter a glimpse of this feature on any distant swift is sure to get the heart pumping!
This story is from the September 2023 edition of BBC Wildlife.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM BBC Wildlife
BBC Wildlife
SNAP-CHAT
Isaac Szabo talks hellbenders, chub nests and bears on the roof
3 mins
December 2025
BBC Wildlife
Why are the tropics so diverse?
AS YOU MOVE FROM THE POLES towards the equator, species richness increases.
1 mins
December 2025
BBC Wildlife
Magnificent frigatebird
ONE MIGHT BE FORGIVEN FOR thinking that pterodactyls had been de-extincted upon first sighting the silhouette of a magnificent frigatebird.
3 mins
December 2025
BBC Wildlife
YEAR OF THE CAT
Once a phantom of Chile's windswept peaks, this plucky feline is making a comeback
3 mins
December 2025
BBC Wildlife
KATE BRADBURY
“I feel I am part bird at this point at the year's end: I'm ready for spring”
2 mins
December 2025
BBC Wildlife
SNOW DAYS
High in the boreal forests of Colorado, the snowshoe hare lives a secretive life. But one photographer has gained a unique window into its world
3 mins
December 2025
BBC Wildlife
A journey into sound
Progressive hearing loss prompted a memorable quest to absorb nature's calls and choruses
7 mins
December 2025
BBC Wildlife
WILD IN THE CITY
A huge parliament of long-eared owls has made an unlikely home in a Serbian town square
2 mins
December 2025
BBC Wildlife
Birds follow the flames
In the Sierra Nevada of California, fire gives some birds a boost
1 mins
December 2025
BBC Wildlife
Remembering Jane
The ethologist, conservationist and humanitarian Dr Jane Goodall died in October. We reflect on the woman who gave the world hope
5 mins
December 2025
Translate
Change font size