Chimney Swift
Chaetura pelagica
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderApodiformes (Swifts and Hummingbirds)
- FamilyApodidae (Swifts)
- GenusChaetura (Chaetura Swifts)
- SpeciesChaetura pelagica (Chimney Swift)
The chimney swift (Chaetura pelagica) is a bird belonging to the swift family Apodidae. A member of the genus Chaetura, it is closely related to both Vaux's swift and Chapman's swift; in the past, the three were sometimes considered to be conspecific. It has no subspecies. The chimney swift is a medium-sized, sooty gray bird with very long, slender wings and very short legs. Like all swifts, it is incapable of perching on flat surfaces, and can only perch on vertical surfaces. Many fly around all day and only come down at night when roosting. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Los Nevados National Natural Park
Gray-rumped Swift
Chaetura cinereiventris
Short-tailed Swift
Chaetura brachyura
White-collared Swift
Streptoprocne zonaris
Chestnut-collared Swift
Streptoprocne rutila
White-tipped Swift
Aeronautes montivagus
Spot-fronted Swift
Cypseloides cherriei
Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift
Panyptila cayennensis
White-chinned Swift
Cypseloides cryptus
Shining Sunbeam
Aglaeactis cupripennis
Great Sapphirewing
Pterophanes cyanopterus
Golden-breasted Puffleg
Eriocnemis mosquera
Buff-winged Starfrontlet
Coeligena lutetiae
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Chimney Swift at Los Nevados National Natural Park — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there