Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernInvertebrates

UrbanCup nestSmall · 18 g

Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura), photo 1 — Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0

Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura), photo 2 — Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0

Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura), photo 3 — Photo: Monics Paredes · CC BY 4.0

Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura), photo 4 — Photo: Kathy Richardson · CC BY 4.0

Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura), photo 7 — Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0

Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura), photo 8 — Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0

Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura), photo 9 — Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0

Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura), photo 10 — Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0

What the Short-tailed Swift sounds like

Sonogram of the Short-tailed Swift: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

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

Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Napo: km 11.6 Narupa-Loreto road, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Short-tailed Swift

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Short-tailed Swift

Regular range

The map shades 15 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Panama Colombia Ecuador Peru Brazil Trinidad & Tobago Venezuela Guyana French Guiana Suriname Bolivia St. Lucia St. Vincent & Grenadines Martinique Guadeloupe

About the Short-tailed Swift

The short-tailed swift is a bird in the Apodidae, or swift family.

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

Easily confused with

Sick's SwiftChaetura meridionalisThe upperparts dark smoky brown.

Grey-rumped SwiftChaetura cinereiventrisThe grey-rumped swift is about 10.5 cm (4.1 in) long and weighs about 17 g (0.60 oz).

Band-rumped SwiftChaetura spinicaudusThe band-rumped swift is 10.5 to 12.6 cm (4.1 to 5.0 in) long and weighs 13.8 to 18.5 g (0.49 to 0.65 oz).

Side by side: Short-tailed Swift vs Vaux's Swift · Grey-rumped Swift vs Short-tailed Swift · Short-tailed Swift vs Sick's Swift · Band-rumped Swift vs Short-tailed Swift

Learn the Short-tailed Swift in the BeakBrain App

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