Costa Rican Swift

Costa Rican Swift

Chaetura fumosa

Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Corcovado National Park
579 Verified sightings at Corcovado National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,876 Verified sightings across all 8 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Costa Rican Swift

The Costa Rican swift (Chaetura fumosa) is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. During much of the 20th century the Costa Rican swift was treated as a subspecies of the band-rumped swift (C. spinicaudus). Before that time it was placed in genus Acanthylis with several other swifts that are now classified in genus Chaetura. The Costa Rican swift is monotypic.

The Costa Rican swift is about 11 cm (4.3 in) long. The sexes are alike. Their head is dusky. Their upperparts are mostly sooty black with a blue gloss and a pale grayish rump and dull black uppertail coverts. Their throat and breast are pale grayish.

The Costa Rican swift is found from southwestern Costa Rica east into western Panama's Chiriquí Province. The International Ornithological Committee places it in Colombia as well, but the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society has no records from that country. It occurs over several forest types, semi-open areas, pastures, and agricultural fields. In elevation it mostly occurs below 900 m (3,000... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
2 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
3 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
4 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
5 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
6 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
7 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
8 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Costa Rican Swift in Corcovado National Park?

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Costa Rican Swift sighting in Corcovado National Park, based on 579 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Costa Rican Swift in Corcovado National Park?

April has the highest sighting rate for Costa Rican Swift in Corcovado National Park in our monthly data.

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