Fork-tailed Palm Swift (Tachornis squamata)
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Fork-tailed Palm Swift

Tachornis squamata (Cassin, 1853)

11 gWeight

The fork-tailed palm swift or Neotropical palm swift (Tachornis squamata) is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae.

Most records: Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Fork-tailed Palm Swift has been recorded at 239 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 11 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Sani LodgeEcuador1,523 records
  2. Sacha LodgeEcuador1,018 records
  3. Los Amigos Biological StationPeru671 records
More places
  1. Napo Wildlife CenterEcuador628 records
  2. Jardim da AmazôniaBrazil528 records
  3. Waqanki/Quebrada MishquiyaquilloPeru489 records
  4. Parque Simon BolivarVenezuela487 records
  5. ExplorNapo LodgePeru410 records
  6. Manu BiolodgePeru384 records
  7. Waller FieldTrinidad & Tobago366 records

Countries and regions with the most records

PeruEcuadorVenezuelaBrazilColombiaTrinidad & TobagoGuyanaSuriname

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The fork-tailed palm swift or Neotropical palm swift (Tachornis squamata) is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found across most of northern South America and on Trinidad and Tobago.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Fork-tailed Palm Swift?

The Fork-tailed Palm Swift weighs around 11 g.

Where does the Fork-tailed Palm Swift live?

Its breeding range: South America: Amazonia and eastern Brazil. It is most often recorded in Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela.

Is the Fork-tailed Palm Swift endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Fork-tailed Palm Swift as Least Concern.

What does the Fork-tailed Palm Swift eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Fork-tailed Palm Swift in?

It belongs to the family Swifts (Apodidae), order Apodiformes.

At a glance

Weight
11 g
Habitat
Woodland
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Feeds in the air
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
104 mm
Tail
67 mm
Bill
6 mm
Tarsus
8 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

South America: Amazonia and eastern Brazil

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Swifts Apodidae
Genus
Tachornis

Other birds in the genus Tachornis

Antillean Palm SwiftAntillean Palm SwiftTachornis phoenicobiaPygmy Palm SwiftPygmy Palm SwiftTachornis furcataSpot-fronted SwiftSpot-fronted SwiftCypseloides cherrieiWhite-chinned SwiftWhite-chinned SwiftCypseloides cryptusWhite-fronted SwiftWhite-fronted SwiftCypseloides storeriSooty SwiftSooty SwiftCypseloides fumigatusRothschild's SwiftRothschild's SwiftCypseloides rothschildiAmerican Black SwiftAmerican Black SwiftCypseloides nigerWhite-chested SwiftWhite-chested SwiftCypseloides lemosiGreat Dusky SwiftGreat Dusky SwiftCypseloides senex
Fork-tailed Palm Swift

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Marcelo Maux. ↗

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