Is a Switch Categorized by If statements more efficient than Large Switch Statement?

Which of these is more efficient or is it pretty much the same?

var creature : String;

switch (creature)
{
	case mouse:
	break;
			
	case hedgehog:
	break;
			
	case rat:
	break;
		
	case guineapig:
	break;			
			
	case squirrel:
	break;	
	
	case swan:
	break;
	
	case crow:
	break;
	
	case blackbird:
	break;
	
	case dove:
	break;
	
	case peacock:
	break;

	case Magpie:
	break;
	
	default:
	break;
}

//--- OR

if (creature.category == bird)
{
	switch (creature)
	{
		case swan:
		break;
		
		case crow:
		break;
		
		case blackbird:
		break;
		
		case dove:
		break;
		
		case peacock:
		break;

		case Magpie:
		break;
		
		default:
		break;
	}
}

else if (creature.category == rodent)
{
	switch (creature)
	{
		case mouse:
		break;
				
		case hedgehog:
		break;
				
		case rat:
		break;
			
		case guineapig:
		break;			
				
		case squirrel:
		break;	
		
		default:
		break;
	}
}

They’re definitely “pretty much the same”. While there may be some extremely negligible timing differences, for all practical purposes it doesn’t really matter.

With that in mind, this is not really a valid place to try to squeeze performance out of an application. Just code these types of things using the style that you find the most readable / maintainable. That’s where you’ll get a real long-term gain.

Jeff