Band-rumped Swift

About the Band-rumped Swift

The band-rumped swift (Chaetura spinicaudus) is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found from Panama south through Colombia into Ecuador, east from Venezuela into the Guianas and Brazil, and on Trinidad.

The band-rumped swift, pale-rumped swift (C. egregia), grey-rumped swift (C. cinereiventris), and Lesser Antillean swift (C. martinica) were at one time placed in genus Acanthylis. During much of the 20th century the Costa Rican swift (C. fumosa) was treated as a subspecies of the band-rumped. Since then the band-rumped swift has been assigned two subspecies, the nominate C. s. spinicaudus and C. s. aetherodroma. Other subspecies have been proposed but not accepted.

The band-rumped swift is 10.5 to 12.6 cm (4.1 to 5.0 in) long and weighs 13.8 to 18.5 g (0.49 to 0.65 oz). It has a protruding head, a short square tail, and wings that bulge in the middle and somewhat hook at the end. The sexes are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies have black-brown upperparts with a white band on the rump. Their underparts are dark with a slightly paler throat. Juveniles have white tips on some wing feathers... Wikipedia →