Band-rumped swift

The band-rumped swift (Chaetura spinicaudus) is a small swift. Until 1998, it was known as Chaetura spinicauda. At that time, the previously considered subspecies Costa Rican swift, Chaetura fumosa, was split from this species and the scientific name was modified from C. spinacauda to C. spinacaudus.

Band-rumped swift
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Apodidae
Genus: Chaetura
Species:
C. spinicaudus
Binomial name
Chaetura spinicaudus
(Temminck, 1839)

It breeds in forested areas from Costa Rica south and east to Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, the Guianas, Trinidad and northeast Brazil. The nest is a half saucer of twigs glued to the inside of a tree hole or similar shaded location with saliva.

The band-rumped swift is a speedy slender bird, 11.5 cm long, weighing 15 g. The upperparts are blackish with a whitish band across the rump, and the underparts are dark brown with a paler throat. It has a short tail.

It feeds in flight on flying insects, often low over roads or clearings in the morning or evening, rising high above the forest, often with other swifts, in the middle of the day.

It has a chittering csinck call.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Chaetura spinicaudus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Swifts by Chantler and Driessens, ISBN 1-873403-83-6
  • ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd ed.). Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
  • Hilty, Steven L (2003). Birds of Venezuela. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.
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