Short-tailed Swift vs Sick's Swift

Short-tailed Swift

Chaetura brachyura

Small18 gUrban

The short-tailed swift is about 10.5 cm long, and weighs 20 g. It has long narrow wings, a robust body and a short tail. The sexes are similar. It is mainly black with a pale rump and tail. It can be distinguished from related species in its range, such as the band-rumped swift (C. spinicauda) or the gray-rumped swift (C. cinereiventris) by the lack of contrast between the rump and the tail, the latter being much darker in the other species.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Napo: km 11.6 Narupa-Loreto road, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0

Sick's Swift

Chaetura meridionalis

Small22 gForest

The upperparts dark smoky brown. The tail is ashy grey with dark shafts and protruding spines, The throat is grey, lower underparts dark brown, bill and legs black.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Short-tailed Swift and Sick's Swift.