Short-tailed Swift - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Marcelo Padua
Belem, Para, Brazil

Chaetura brachyura

Includes Tumbes Swift

Identification

10.5 cm

• Plumage is mostly black
• Pale rump and tail
• Long narrow wings
• Short tail
  

Sexes are similar

Distribution

Central and South America:
Central America: found only in Panama
Caribbean (West Indies): Lesser Antilles, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago
South America: Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 4 subspecies^[1]:

• C. b. brachyura:

• Panama to the Guianas, Trinidad, west-central Brazil and northern Bolivia

• C. b. praevelox:

• Southern Lesser Antilles (Grenada, St. Vincent and Tobago)

• C. b. cinereocauda:

• North-central Brazil

• C. b. ocypetes: Tumbes Swift

• Locally in south-western Ecuador and extreme north-western Peru

ocypetes is sometimes accepted as full species, Tumbes Swift^[2]

Habitat

Savanna, open woodland and farmland.

Behaviour

Breeding

The 5cm nest is formed from twigs and saliva and placed on a vertical surface. The clutch of 3-7 white eggs is incubated by both adults for 17-18 days. The youngsters leave the nest after about 14 days but cling to the wall near the nest for a further two weeks.

Diet

The diet includes flying insects, including winged ants and termites.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Short-tailed Swift. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Short-tailed_Swift

External Links

Search for photos of Short-tailed Swift in the gallery