In September of 2011, three alpine swifts took to the air in southwest Africa, and stayed there for almost 200 days. They fed on the wing. They slept on the wing. By the time they firmly settled back on solid surfaces, it was April of 2012 and they had travelled across the Sahara to the Mediterranean.

By fitting the birds with tiny trackers, Felix Liechti from the Swiss Ornithological Institute showed that they probably flew non-stop for almost seven months. It’s possible that they landed occasionally, but very rarely and never for more than a few minutes at a time.

Birds are known for its mastery of the skies, but the swifts may be the most capable of them all. Their