Great Dusky Swift
Cypseloides senex
Large swift with uniform cold brown plumage with a pale face. Similar to Sooty Swift, but is larger and paler. Most often seen close to waterfalls where they roost and nest, often gathering in huge groups. Forages widely over a variety of habitats.
Identification
The great dusky swift is the largest member of genus Cypseloides. It is 18 cm (7.1 in) long and weighs 56 to 110 g (2.0 to 3.9 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a chocolate brown crown and throat with pale gray edges to the feathers, giving a frosted appearance to the face. Their back is a darker brown, their rump a brown intermediate between the head and back, and their tail blackish brown. Their undersides are a paler brown than the back. The upper side of the wing is mostly brown and the underside somewhat lighter. Juveniles are very similar to adults with the addition on pale fringes to the wing feathers.
Taxonomy
The great dusky swift is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Cypseloides senex
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1826)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Apodidae
- Genus
- Cypseloides
Range and habitat
The great dusky swift is found in Brazil from southern Pará and much of Mato Grosso east into Bahia and south to Rio Grande do Sul, in eastern Paraguay, and in northeastern Argentina's Misiones Province. Undocumented sight records in Bolivia lead the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society to treat it as hypothetical in that country. Its principal habitats are tropical evergreen forest, temperate forest, and second-growth scrublands. The species roosts around waterfalls and is known for flying through the Iguazu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The great dusky swift is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>Like all swifts, the great dusky is an aerial insectivore. Its diet is not known in detail but includes insects of at least five families. It often feeds in flocks that sometimes include white-collared swifts (Streptoprocne zonaris).<p>The great dusky swift nests in large colonies on a cliff, either beside or behind a waterfall. The nest is made of moss and pebbles cemented with mud.<p>The great dusky swift's principal vocalization is described as "a ti-ti-ti sound followed by a buzz, tirr-tshaarr."
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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