How big is a Lesser Antillean Swift?

The Lesser Antillean Swift is a tiny sized bird weighing about 13 g.

Where can you see a Lesser Antillean Swift?

The Lesser Antillean Swift occurs in 6 countries, including Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines and Martinique.

What birds look similar to a Lesser Antillean Swift?

The Lesser Antillean Swift is most easily confused with the Chapman's Swift, the Pale-rumped Swift and the Ashy-tailed Swift.

Is the Lesser Antillean Swift endangered?

The Lesser Antillean Swift is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Lesser Antillean Swift

Chaetura martinica

Swifts · Apodiformes · Rare

The Lesser Antillean Swift (Chaetura martinica) is a rare swift found in 6 countries, weighing about 13 g. The Lesser Antillean swift is a species a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae.

Least ConcernRareEats invertebratesforestcup nest13 g

Lesser Antillean Swift (Chaetura martinica), photo 1 — Photo: no rights reserved, uploaded by Adam Jackson · cc0

Lesser Antillean Swift (Chaetura martinica), photo 2 — Photo: Derek Duplessis · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Lesser Antillean Swift (Chaetura martinica), photo 3 — Photo: Derek Duplessis · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Lesser Antillean Swift (Chaetura martinica), photo 4 — Photo: Adam Jackson · http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Lesser Antillean Swift (Chaetura martinica), photo 5 — Photo: Adam Jackson · http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Lesser Antillean Swift (Chaetura martinica), photo 6 — Photo: Donald Davesne · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Lesser Antillean Swift (Chaetura martinica), photo 7 — Photo: Donald Davesne · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Lesser Antillean Swift (Chaetura martinica), photo 8 — Photo: Donald Davesne · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Lesser Antillean Swift (Chaetura martinica), photo 9 — Photo: Donald Davesne · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Lesser Antillean Swift (Chaetura martinica), photo 10 — Photo: (c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

About the Lesser Antillean Swift

The Lesser Antillean swift is a species a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found on Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and possibly Nevis.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to identify it

The 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). 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. Adults have black-brown upperparts with a narrow gray band on the rump. Their underparts are brown with a paler throat. Juveniles have white tips on some wing feathers. Voice: The Lesser Antillean swift's principal call is "a high-pitched twittering trill 'prrrrrrrr' or 'prrrrrrr-titi' given at intervals."

Where it lives

Guadeloupe Dominica St. Lucia St. Vincent & Grenadines Martinique

Recorded as a rare visitor in France.

When to see it

Best months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, November, December, with peak activity in March. It is a variable species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Lesser Antillean Swift?: The 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). Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Lesser Antillean Swift?: The Lesser Antillean Swift is a tiny sized bird weighing about 13 g.
Where can you see a Lesser Antillean Swift?: The Lesser Antillean Swift occurs in 6 countries, including Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines and Martinique.
What birds look similar to a Lesser Antillean Swift?: The Lesser Antillean Swift is most easily confused with the Chapman's Swift, the Pale-rumped Swift and the Ashy-tailed Swift.
Is the Lesser Antillean Swift endangered?: The Lesser Antillean Swift is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Lesser Antillean Swift for real

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