Streamlined birds known as common swifts have just broken the world's record for longest time spent airborne in nature without any support.

The birds spend at least 10 months out of every year in the air, according to new research that could inspire new unmanned aerial vehicle designs.

Previously it was known that frigate birds and alpine swifts remained in flight for periods of months. Scientists suspected that common swifts did this too, since no roost sites were ever found for the birds in their African wintering areas.

"Hence, there was a suspicion that this species may actually forego roosts involving landing and actually spend its nights in the airspace," Anders Hedenström of Lund University's Department of Biology told Seeker. Hedenström authored a study about the findings in Current Biology.

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Hedenström and his team developed a new type of micro data logger to track the birds' movements. The little gadgets record acceleration to monitor the birds' flight activity, and also document geolocation via added light sensors.

The researchers attached the data loggers to 19 common swifts that were later recaptured. The data revealed that the birds spent more than 99 percent of their time during the 10-month non-breeding period in flight.

"A few individuals in our study literally never landed during this period," Hedenström said, adding that he thinks the birds somehow sleep in the air. How they may manage this, though, remains a mystery.