For other ESL speakers who had problems parsing this headline, swifts are a type of bird: 
this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2026
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English is my first language and I was still confused about what fast bricks were for.
I'd say it's not an ESL problem so much as a "common swift not endangered nor news here" problem.
Ohhhhh I thought this was about the SWIFT banking system at first lol, TIL
I thought it was about the speed the brick could fly at when thrown, so yeah…
LMFAO that's hilarious. What's next, high-speed roof tiles?
The swift swift swiftly swifted in the swiftest way possible.
You ever think about the word "saw"? It's a motorized power tool used for cutting. But it's also the past tense of having seen something. So if you see a saw, later can say you saw a saw. And it's also a verb. So if you watch a saw cutting another saw, you will have saw a saw saw a saw.
English is weird.
Adoring your generosity here.
I conceptualized perfectly the first time, but I am glad you helped others🧵
If your goal was to seriously derail the topic of discussion, I applaud you for a job extremely well done.
I just wanted to help because the headline really confused me. Then it took on a life of its own.
English is my second language, but instead of swift bricks I had to web search what ESL stands for... When addressing non-native speakers, please don't use cryptic and ambiguous acronyms.
ESL (English as a Second Language) is an incredibly common and widely recognized acronym (at least in the US, not sure about other countries).
incredibly common and widely recognized
(at least in the US
LOL
I researched this term (I read the wikipedia page) and apparently it is used in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US. In Ireland and the UK, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) is more common, and some other terms are floating around in the anglosphere. Where this is notably not used is where English is not a native language.
Again, when addressing non-native speakers, using cryptic (and ambiguous, I as a German mostly know ESL as an abbreviation for Electronic Sports Leagues, swiss people could first think of l'École Suisse de Langues, etc) terms is really not the best idea.
I have now spent majority of my life speaking English/living in English speaking country and yeah they love their acronyms. Unnecessary useless acronyms. I suspect they're wired for it from young age and don't even realize, because despite starting to learn English at a young age, there was no incentive for me to start coming up with or learning acronyms.
notably not used is where English is not a native language
I mean, not to be blunt, but duh?
it would only really make sense to even talk about English as a second language if the general population does speak it as a native language. in the US people arent ever going to say something like french as a second language, because there's no need for the distinction
But most people with English as an additional language live outside countries where English is a native language. So again, when addressing people who speak English but not as their native language, why use terms that are exclusively used in countries whith English as anative language?
Or do you think the internet exists only in countries where English is a native language?
unfortunately ESOL is the less common/more cryptic term generally. we all learn a lot every day!
I figured as much. That's why I thought it might be helpful to explain the cryptic term to make communications easier. Hoped it was helpful.
I mean, you don't need to know what ESL means for my comment to be helpful. The helpful bit is in the second part without any confusing abbreviations.
So? I mean, while honorably clearing up some confusion, you created another point of confusion for someone else to clear up.
Cute!
Wouldn't it be more logical to make separate birdhouses if there is a need for them?
Most swifts won't use birdhouses. They prefer large structures with hollow cavities, partly due to the increased shelter and partly due to the decrease in competition from other bird species.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) designs, distributes plans for DIY, and sells a nesting box specifically for swifts, and instructions for where to place them on homes.
They still need making and putting up, and they're more obtrusive than a swift brick as they stick out instead of being embedded in the wall itself.
swifts nest in colonies, tend to keep the same nest for life, and require nests to be fairly high up & sheltered.
hollow bricks like this allow swifts to do what comes naturally to them, with v minimal change on our side of things, since they're just being added during the building process & not being retrofitted.
individual bird boxes in trees etc can be great for other birds, but it'd be tough to convince swifts to use them!
Bird boxes are also super-temporary in the greater scheme of things. One property owner is a bird lady with 25 boxes, she moves- next property owner doesn't like bird boxes 25->0 overnight.
There's kind of need for them everywhere and this is a pretty practical way to ensure they end up everywhere and will stay there.
And in 20 years, in the case of overpopulation, they would force people to search for those tiny holes in the walls.
I don't like the approach. Reminds me of the story about China and sparrows.
Exactly how hard would it be to place a "cork in the hole" to render the cavity unusable? If (big if) overpopulation becomes a problem, it's pretty easy - these days - to develop and maintain a database of most of these swift cavities, survey them from a distance to see if they are corked or not, and adjust the number of corks as appropriate to address current population trends.
I get that you don't like the approach - but it's a solid one, which is what works best for swifts' nests: solid structures.