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 San Lorenzo Protected Forest
Short-tailed Swift
Chaetura brachyura
Band-rumped Swift
Chaetura spinicaudus
Vaux's Swift
Chaetura vauxi
White-collared Swift
Streptoprocne zonaris
Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift
Panyptila cayennensis
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Amazilia tzacatl
Violet-bellied Hummingbird
Chlorestes julie
Violet-crowned Woodnymph
Thalurania colombica
Stripe-throated Hermit
Phaethornis striigularis
Blue-chested Hummingbird
Polyerata amabilis
Long-billed Hermit
Phaethornis longirostris
White-necked Jacobin
Florisuga mellivora
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Chimney Swift at San Lorenzo Protected Forest — 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