‘They’re being cooked’: baby swifts die leaving nests as heatwave hits Spain

Ecologists raise concern over chicks' attempts to escape high temperatures during one of earliest heatwaves on record

Hundreds of baby swifts in southern Spain have died after leaving their nests prematurely, in what ecologists described as an attempt to escape the extreme temperatures during one of the country's earliest heatwaves on record.

Concerns were raised for the protected species late last week after residents in Seville and Cordoba noticed dozens of recently hatched birds scattered across sidewalks.