| Short-tailed Swift | |
|---|---|
 Chaetura brachyura brachyura | |
| Information | |
| Range | Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada and Saint Vincent, and in tropical South America from Panama, Colombia and the Guianas south to Ecuador, Peru and Brazil; in Brazil, the entire Amazon Basin, excluding much of the southeastern Basin. |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Apodiformes |
| Family | Apodidae |
| Genus | Chaetura |
| Species | Chaetura brachyura |
| Conservation Status | |
 Least Concern | |
The Short-tailed swift (Chaetura brachyura), is a swift in the Apodidae family.
Taxonomy[]
The subspecies Chaetura brachyura ocypetes is sometimes considered a full species, the Tumbes swift (Chaetura ocypetes).
Distribution and Habitat[]
The swift is a common resident of Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada and Saint Vincent, and in tropical South America from Panama, Colombia and the Guianas south to Ecuador, Peru and Brazil; in Brazil, the entire Amazon Basin, excluding much of the southeastern Basin. It rarely occurs over 800 m ASL even in the hottest parts of its range and in mountainous or hilly terrain it inhabits, but has been recorded as high as 1,300 m ASL. It is found in a range of habitats including savanna, open woodland, and cultivation.
Description[]
The short-tailed swift is about 10.5 cm long, and weighs 20 g. It has long narrow wings, a robust body and a short tail. The sexes are similar. It is mainly black with a pale rump and tail. It can be distinguished from related species in its range, such as the band-rumped swift (Chaetura spinicauda) or the gray-rumped swift (Chaetura cinereiventris) by the lack of contrast between the rump and the tail, the latter being much darker in the other species.
Behavior[]
It is very gregarious and forms communal roosts when not breeding. Predation by bats at the nest sites has been suspected. The flight call is a rapid chittering sti-sti-stew-stew-stew.
Breeding[]
The nest is a 5 cm wide shallow half-saucer of twigs and saliva attached to a vertical surface. This is often a man-made structure like a chimney or manhole, as with its relative, the chimney swift (Chaetura pelagica), but natural caves and tree cavities are also used. Up to seven white eggs (average 3 or 4) are incubated by both parents for 17–18 days. The young leave the nest in a further two weeks, but remain near it, clinging to the cavity wall without flying, for another two weeks.
Feeding[]
The swift feeds in flight on flying insects, including winged ants and termites.