How swift are swifts?

[Africa]

That is the title of a recent research paper covered by the BBC Earth News. The paper reveals that in their 'screaming parties' in which all the local swifts take place during the breeding season, swifts can reach the astonishing speeds of 111 km/h (thats almost 70 miles/h)! This makes swifts the fastest birds when using self-powered flight (peregrine falcons use gravity to gain speed)!
I have a little rant about the BBC coverage though. Check the photo. I think it is a stuffed swift and some photoshopping, don't you? By chance a few days ago I was reading about swifts and I checked the website of the amazing swift photographer Jean Francois Cornuet, what a difference! Swifts fly with primaries and tail feathers pressed neatly against one another. A stuffed swift and a poorly kept one I say! And it is not the money, you can get photos of real live swifts in Wikipedia for free!

[Ukwildlifeo]

Ive got a book I read as a child that had the alpine swift as the fasted bird in the world, as it didn't count the peregrine (probably needs the stoop to build up speed), but its interesting to see 'our' swift as there fastest now

[rossy]

read the article africa , but if the peregrine even in a stoop is still in mid air ,so its still in my book flying which makes that the faster, just a little thing to think about, rossy

[Monkey Orchid]

An interesting thread. Not sure about the possible 'stuffed swift' photo.

But am I the only person who read this and went straight off on the following tangent:

"What... is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?"

"What do you mean? An African or Eurpean swallow?"