Swifts are birds that spend most of their lives in flight. They only perch to nest. Three species of swifts nest in Italy; the common swift, the pallid swift and the greater swift. All three species nest in Carmagnola. In particular, an important colony of over 120 pairs of pallid swifts nests in the pond holes of Palazzo Lomellini. The species was discovered here in 1974 and has been followed since then with numerous researches carried out by the Civic Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the Universities of Turin, Eastern Piedmont, Lund (Sweden) and A&T University in College Station (Texas, USA).

Pallid swift (Apus pallidus) flight from a hole in Palazzo Lomellini (Photo Batti Gai). Note the wire net that partially occludes the hole, allowing entry by swifts and not by pigeons.