Chimney Swift

Chaetura pelagica

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Brief #

Dark sooty olive above and greyish brown below, with a slightly paler rump.

Synonyms #

  • Vencejo de chimenea (Spanish)

Red List Status #

The Chimney Swift is at high risk of unnatural (human-caused) extinction without further human intervention.
Find out more about IUCN's Red List program here

Description #

The adult's plumage is a dark sooty olive above and grayish brown below, with a slightly paler rump and uppertail covert feathers, and a significantly paler throat. Its upperparts are the most uniformly colored of all the Chaetura swifts, showing little contrast between back and rump. Its beak is black, as are its feet and legs. Its iris is dark brown. Juvenal plumage (that held by juvenile birds) is very similar to that of adults, but with whitish tips to the outer webs of the secondaries and tertials. The sexes are identical in plumage, though males average slightly heavier than females.

Measurements #

Length: 12 - 15 cm
Wingspan: 27 - 30 cm
Weight: 17 - 30 g

Similar species #