Bird Guide

Sick's Swift vs Vaux's Swift

Sick's Swift (Chaetura meridionalis)

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
Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi)

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

Learn this pair in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

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