This is Bird No.

This is Cupid's busiest day of the year.

You could say that love is in the air.

And for some birds, you can take that literally.

Love really is in the air.

Where are the birds called white-throated swifts?

White-throated swifts are sparrow-sized birds with short bodies and very long slender wings.

They nest in canyons throughout the west.

When a pair of white-throated swifts wants to get to know each other better, they meet

up on the wing high above the ground.

The two birds then grasp one another and clinging together, tumble downward.

Their bodies whirling in space.

Still locked in this embrace, the swifts may plummet for over 500 feet until, just before

striking the earth, they separate.

Then they flap nonchalantly back up the canyon wall.

This behavior, known as a courtship fall, helps bond the two swifts as a pair for the

nesting season.

Some observers suspect that white-throated swifts may even mate during their rapid joint

descent.

Visit a western canyon in the spring, and you might see, first hand, a pair of swifts

literally falling in love.