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 Chirripó National Park
Vaux's Swift
Chaetura vauxi
Costa Rican Swift
Chaetura fumosa
White-collared Swift
Streptoprocne zonaris
Chestnut-collared Swift
Streptoprocne rutila
Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift
Panyptila cayennensis
Spot-fronted Swift
Cypseloides cherriei
Black Swift
Cypseloides niger
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Amazilia tzacatl
Snowy-bellied Hummingbird
Saucerottia edward
Violet Sabrewing
Campylopterus hemileucurus
Green Hermit
Phaethornis guy
White-tailed Emerald
Microchera chionura
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Chimney Swift at Chirripó National 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