Chapman's Swift
Chaetura chapmani
Small swift of rainforest regions; fairly common but often overlooked. Difficult to distinguish from other small swifts. Overall dark blackish-brown, with barely paler throat and brownish rump. Chapman’s appears stockier and broader-winged than other species and lacks any gray or white on rump; has more obvious tail than Short-tailed Swift. Flight is quick with fluttery wingbeats, much like other Chaetura swifts. Calls are choppier and lower-pitched than those of other small swifts. Forages for insects over canopy of mature forest and second growth, and along rivers, often with other small swifts. Wide range over much of Amazonia.
Identification
Chapman's swift is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 20.75 to 28 g (0.73 to 0.99 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. The nominate subspecies has glossy black upperparts with a dark gray rump and uppertail coverts. Its underparts are entirely dark brown. Subspecies C. c. viridipennis is somewhat larger than the nominate; it has essentially the same plumage but almost no contrast between the gray rump and black back.
Taxonomy
Chapman's swift has two subspecies, the nominate C. c. chapmani and C. c. viridipennis. For a time in the late 20th century viridipennis was treated as a separate species, the "Amazonian" or "Mato Grosso" swift but taxonomic systems soon returned to the previous two-subspecies model. Long ago, Chapman's swift, chimney swift (C. pelagica), and Vaux's swift (C. vauxi) were treated as a single species.<p>The species' English name and specific epithet honor "that famous student of Neotropical birds, Frank M. Chapman".
- Scientific name
- Chaetura chapmani
- Authority
- Hellmayr, 1907
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Apodidae
- Genus
- Chaetura
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of Chapman's swift is found in Panama, western and northern Colombia, and northwestern Venezuela; separate from there in eastern Venezuela, the Guianas, and northeastern Brazil; and also on Trinidad. C. c. viridipennis is found in eastern Peru, eastern Bolivia, and western Amazonian Brazil. Undocumented sight records in Ecuador lead the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society to list it as hypothetical in that country.<p>Chapman's swift mainly inhabits tropical lowland evergreen forest, secondary forest, and secondary scrublands. It has been recorded feeding over coastal swamps and mangroves. In Colombia it ranges in elevation from sea level to 1,600 m (5,200 ft), in northern Venezuela to 600 m (2,000 ft), in southern Venezuela to 200 m (660 ft), and in Amazonian Brazil to about 800 m (2,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The nominate subspecies of Chapman's swift is a year-round resident throughout both parts of its range. C. c. viridipennis leaves Bolivia and parts of Peru and western Brazil after the breeding season and apparently moves further east in Brazil.<p>Like all swifts, Chapman's is an aerial insectivore. It often feeds with other species of swift, but also in flocks of only its kind.<p>The nominate subspecies of Chapman's swift nests in the wet season of late spring to early autumn. C. c. viridipennis apparently nests in the austral summer. Very few nests are known; they are half a cup attached to a vertical surface, often human-made such as a chimney. There is speculation that it also nests in hollow trees. The clutch size is two or three eggs and the incubation period is 17 to 18 days.<p>The principal call of Chapman's swift is "a long series of strident single notes...'tseep..tseep..tseep..tseep.tseep.tseep..tseep..tseep...tseep...tseep...', with seldom any twittering trills." It also makes "repeated shorter 'tsip' calls."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Rhipidura dahli
Mostly deep rufous above with a grayish head and a black eye mask bordered above and below by pure white. Underside pale cinnamon. Long, often fanned tail has a dark band toward the end. Found mostly in montane forest above 500 meters of elevation, but occurs locally in lowlands. Like Northern Fantail but smaller and rufous above, lacking the pure white throat. Song is a squeaky “swift-tootectootoowi.”
Brown Bush Warbler
Locustella luteoventris
Shy inhabitant of scrubby areas in the middle to upper reaches of hilly and montane regions. Dark brown with a white throat and grayish belly. Long tail usually held horizontally, seldom cocked up. Rarely ventures out into the open except when singing; even then, it usually sings from partial cover. Song is a rattling series of dry, repeated notes, somewhat like clattering machinery.
Western Sandpiper
Calidris mauri
Small sandpiper with relatively long, droopy bill (longer on females). In breeding plumage, shows rich rufous tones on shoulders, cheeks, and crown. Nonbreeding is plain pale gray above and white below. Juveniles look pale-faced and have a bright strip of rufous feathers on the upper edge of the wings. Most similar to Semipalmated Sandpiper, which averages shorter-billed and duller grayish-brown overall. Extremely difficult to distinguish in winter; note Western is somewhat larger-headed and more front-heavy. Droopy bill might recall Dunlin, but Western is smaller and paler. Breeds on high Arctic tundra in Alaska. In migration and winter, occurs in large flocks on mudflats and beaches. Much more common in western North America; uncommon to rare on the east coast. Occurs in the winter in the U.S., unlike Semipalmated Sandpiper; regularly winters as far south as Peru, rare to Chile.
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