Common Swift vs European hare

Apus apus compared with Lepus europaeus

Key Differences

• Common Swift is Least Concern while European hare is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Swift	European hare
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Lagomorpha (Rabbits & Hares)
Family	Apodidae	Leporidae (Rabbits & Hares)
Genus	Apus	Lepus
Species	Apus apus	Lepus europaeus

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Swift and European hare share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Common Swift

LC — Least Concern

European hare

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Swift	European hare
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Swift

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

European hare

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, among 7 distinct biome types within the Neotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (10 countries), North America (4 countries), and South America (8 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Common Swift

Common Swift (Apus apus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

European hare

European hare (Lepus europaeus) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇪 Sweden