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Pygmy Palm Swift

Tachornis furcata

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesForestDomed nestTiny · 7 g

ID tip

The pygmy palm swift is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long. It has long, thin, pointed wings and a long deeply forked tail. The sexes are alike. The nominate subspecies has entirely brown upperparts. Its whitish throat and upper belly are separated by a brown band, and the lower belly and undertail coverts are brown. Subspecies T. f. nigrodorsalis has blacker upperparts than the nominate and its throat is whiter. Voice: As of late 2022 xeno-canto had no recordings of pygmy palm swift vocalizations and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library only one. The species' call is described as "buzzy 'bee-beez-beez-beez-be-be-be', accelerating and trailing off".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Pygmy Palm Swift

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 10 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Pygmy Palm Swift

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 1 country with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Venezuela

Recorded as a rare visitor in Colombia.

About the Pygmy Palm Swift

The pygmy palm swift, also known as the pygmy swift, is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.

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

Easily confused with

Antillean Palm Swift (Tachornis phoenicobia) Antillean Palm SwiftTachornis phoenicobiaThe Antillean palm swift is 9 to 11 cm (3.5 to 4.3 in) long and weighs about 9 to 11 g (0.32 to 0.39 oz). Fork-tailed Palm Swift (Tachornis squamata) Fork-tailed Palm SwiftTachornis squamataThe fork-tailed palm swift is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs 9 to 13.6 g (0.32 to 0.48 oz).

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