About the Chapman's Swift
Chapman's swift is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, Venezuela, and possibly Ecuador.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
Chapman's swift is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 20.75 to 28 g (0.73 to 0.99 oz). It has a protruding head, a short square tail, and wings that bulge in the middle and somewhat hook at the end. The sexes are alike. The nominate subspecies has glossy black upperparts with a dark gray rump and uppertail coverts. Its underparts are entirely dark brown. Subspecies C. c. viridipennis is somewhat larger than the nominate; it has essentially the same plumage but almost no contrast between the gray rump and black back. Voice: The principal call of Chapman's swift is "a long series of strident single notes...'tseep..tseep..tseep..tseep.tseep.tseep..tseep..tseep...tseep...tseep...', with seldom any twittering trills." It also makes "repeated shorter 'tsip' calls."
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where the Chapman's Swift lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Panama.
When to see the Chapman's Swift
Peak activity in September · a variable species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Pale-rumped SwiftChaetura egregiaThe pale-rumped swift is about 10.5 cm (4.1 in) long and weighs about 23 g (0.81 oz).
Lesser Antillean SwiftChaetura martinicaThe Lesser Antillean swift is 10.5 to 11 cm (4.1 to 4.3 in) long and weighs an average of 12.7 g (0.45 oz).
Ashy-tailed SwiftChaetura andreiAshy-tailed swift is very similar to the widespread Vaux's swift.
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