Egyptian Swifts
General Information (or misinformation?)
Egyptian Swifts are certainly one of the more mysterious breeds in pigeondom. At first glance you might think them nothing special but if you look twice you can't help but wonder what this bird is all about. Egyptian Swifts are looooooong birds with a low carriage, which only emphasizes the length of their flight and tail feathers. While sporting the "Egyptian" moniker there is some question around their actual origin. Was it actually Egypt or was that merely the place from which they were first imported? There are claims of Syria and India but I have yet to find an authoritative answer to this question. The breed is considered a rare breed in the USA, with no national club as of yet. Their NPA standard is unusual too... Never mentioning the different varieties of Swift or the distinctive neck coloration. There seem to be two categories for the Swift; Flying and Show, each with different standards. Rumor has it that the Flying Swifts are strong flyers, can home, and may even have been bred to outrun hawks and falcons while the Show Swift may not even be able to make it to the roof of your house.
Traits
In my experience Egyptians Swifts tend to be shy, quiet birds but I have heard them to be quite tame from some breeders. While they look larger than a standard Racing Homer they actually feel a little bit smaller in the hand. It's just those long feathers that make them look so big! They are capable of raising their own babies and I know of one breeder that uses them as foster parents. There is some information on the internet about these birds, but most of it (in English anyway) appears to be from the same breeder and I have not been able to locate any physical literature to substantiate the claims. I guess that comes with being a "Rare Breed".
Hopefully in the next few years I will have some more experience with these beautiful birds and will update this page with some verified facts on this mysterious breed!
