Changes in body size and shape have become a flagship response to climate change, but there is still little understanding of the mechanisms driving those changes. Using a long-term database on Alpine swifts (Tachymarptis melba) at breeding colonies in Switzerland, we investigated climate-induced changes in adult body size and in nestlings’ growth. Adult birds showed an increase in wing and tail length but not in body mass or sternum from 1999 to 2023. Nestlings’ wings were also growing faster, linked with an earlier fledging age. We found an increasing selection for wing size over the years, as fewer and fewer nestlings with shorter wings were recruited as breeders in the population.
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