Short-tailed Swift vs Vaux'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

Vaux's Swift

Chaetura vauxi

Small17 gForest

This is a small swift, even compared to other Chaetura species, at 10.7 to 11.2 cm (4.2 to 4.4 in) long and weighing 18 g (0.63 oz). The northern populations are slightly larger at 11.5 cm (4.5 in), probably according to the Bergmann's Rule and/or migration requirements. It has a cigar-shaped body, crescentic wings and a short bluntly squared-off tail. The head, upperparts and wings are dusky black, and the underparts, rump and tail coverts are greyish brown. The throat is paler grey, becoming whitish in northern birds.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Adam Jackson · CC0

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