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
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