Gray-rumped Swift
Chaetura cinereiventris
Small dark swift; look for the large gray rump patch. Very similar to other swifts like Costa Rican (no range overlap), Vaux’s, and Band-rumped. A good view of the rump is helpful, but caution is always warranted with swift identification. Usually seen in flocks, sometimes quite large, feeding over habitats such as forests, clearings, open fields, and lakes.
Identification
The grey-rumped swift is about 10.5 cm (4.1 in) long and weighs about 17 g (0.60 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 of the nominate subspecies have mostly glossy black upperparts with a wide gray rump and uppertail coverts. Their underparts are a lighter gray than the rump, though darker on the undertail coverts. Juveniles are essentially the same as adults with the addition of pale fringes to many of the wing feathers.<p>Subspecies C. c. phaeopygos differs from the nominate only by having pale undertail coverts. C. c. lawrencei has slightly darker underparts than the nominate and black undertail coverts that contrast with the belly. C. c. schistacea has darker upperparts than the nominate, with a steely blue gloss, and also deep gray underparts. C. c. guianensis is almost identical to the nominate. C. c. occidentalis and C. c. sclateri have the darkest rumps of all the subspecies and blackish gray bellies.
Taxonomy
The grey-rumped swift has these seven subspecies:<p>The grey-rumped swift, pale-rumped swift (C. egregia), band-rumped swift (C. spinicaudus), and Lesser Antillean swift (C. martinica) were at one time placed in genus Acanthylis. Some authors have suggested that the grey-rumped and pale-rumped swifts are conspecific. Others have suggested that all of the grey-rumped subspecies except the nominate C. c. cinereiventris belong to another species under the binomial C. sclateri.
- Scientific name
- Chaetura cinereiventris
- Authority
- Sclater, PL, 1862
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Apodidae
- Genus
- Chaetura
Range and habitat
The subspecies of grey-rumped swift are found thus:<p>The grey-rumped swift inhabits a variety of landscapes including lowland tropical evergreen forest, montane evergreen forest, seasonally flooded tropical evergreen forest, and secondary forest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,800 m (5,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The grey-rumped swift is a year-round resident in most or all of its range. In Paraguay and Argentina it is possibly only a breeding species but there is evidence that it is resident there as well.<p>Like all swifts, the grey-rumped is an aerial insectivore. It usually forages in flocks, typically of 20 to 40 birds. The flocks may be of it alone but may also have a mix of swift species and even swallows. Its diet includes flying ants, bees, wasps, beetles, and flies.<p>The grey-rumped swift's breeding season varies throughout its range; examples are between September and March in southeastern Brazil and March to July in Costa Rica. It builds a half-cup nest on the vertical interior wall of a chimney or similar structure; it may be rebuilt and reused. Both parents incubate the clutch of two to four eggs at night. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known.<p>The principal vocalizations of the grey-rumped swift's nominate subspecies are "a bright repeated short 'tsip'" and a "series of 3–4 slightly downslurred burry drawn-out notes 'trrreeew-trrreeew-trrreeew'." The other subspecies' vocalizations vary but are similar to them.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Grauer's Warbler
Graueria vittata
Taxonomically unusual though not very boldly marked warbler. In poor light, or at a distance, looks dingy overall. A good look reveals a brown-olive back, and underparts that are heavily marked with fine barring. Found in thick understory tangles in montane forest of the Albertine Rift. Usually detected by its odd voice: a high, short, rising trill which sounds more like an insect than a bird. Most likely to be confused with Green-backed Camaroptera, but is larger, has a dark rather than red eye, and has fine barring below.
Fluttering Shearwater
Puffinus gavia
A small dark-brown shearwater with a white belly and a dusky patch under its wings along with dark markings on the inner wing visible during flight. A brown cap expands over the eye and runs down the back of the neck, blurring into the white chin and breast. Name is derived from distinctive low and fast “fluttering” flight with rapid bursts of wingbeats. Often seen feeding in flocks off the northern and eastern North Island and in the Cook Strait region. Easily confused with Hutton’s Shearwater where habitats overlap on the Cook Strait. Hutton’s is slightly larger with little white showing on the chin and more extensive gray armpit smudging. Little Shearwater also occurs in northern waters but is smaller, with white extending through or above the eye.
Dambo Cisticola
Cisticola dambo
Small cisticola that is pale and buffy below, and dark on the back. The crown, back of the neck, and back are heavily streaked. Note specific habitat preferences, which can help with identification: found in seepage zones of seasonally wet grasslands, alongside but in wetter situations than Wing-snapping Cisticolas, but avoiding the seasonally flooded habitat of Pale-crowned Cisticola. Very similar to Wing-snapping and Pale-crowned Cisticolas, but longer-tailed than both, and further distinguished from Pale-crowned in breeding plumage by the streaked crown. Also similar to Zitting and Desert Cisticolas, but has a different voice, and is darker on the back. Song consists of nasal notes, given from a low perch (termite mound or grass stem) or occasional brief display flight at grass top height. In contrast to other small cisticolas, it does not have a true aerial display flight.
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