Short-tailed Swift (Chaetura brachyura)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Short-tailed Swift

Chaetura brachyura (Jardine, 1846)

18 gWeight

The short-tailed swift (Chaetura brachyura) is a bird in the Apodidae, or swift family.

Most records: Panama, Ecuador, Trinidad & Tobago

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Most records: Panama, Ecuador, Trinidad & Tobago

Short-tailed Swift has been recorded at 322 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 15 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Canopy TowerPanama2,170 records
  2. Summit PondsPanama1,142 records
  3. Ammo Dump PondsPanama947 records
More places
  1. Gamboa Rainforest ReservePanama777 records
  2. Sacha LodgeEcuador661 records
  3. Pipeline Road (Camino del Oleoducto)Panama652 records
  4. Parque Municipal SummitPanama643 records
  5. Sani LodgeEcuador595 records
  6. Panama Rainforest Discovery CenterPanama592 records
  7. WildSumaco LodgeEcuador480 records

Countries and regions with the most records

PanamaEcuadorTrinidad & TobagoPeruColombiaBrazilGuyanaVenezuela

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 short-tailed swift (Chaetura brachyura) is a bird in the Apodidae, or swift family.

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

Questions

How big is the Short-tailed Swift?

The Short-tailed Swift weighs around 18 g.

Where does the Short-tailed Swift live?

Its breeding range: Middle America, South America: Panama through Amazonia. It is most often recorded in Panama, Ecuador and Trinidad & Tobago.

Is the Short-tailed Swift endangered?

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

What does the Short-tailed Swift eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Short-tailed Swift in?

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

At a glance

Weight
18 g
Habitat
Towns & farmland
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Feeds in the air
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
118 mm
Tail
29 mm
Bill
8 mm
Tarsus
11 mm

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

Range

Middle America, South America: Panama through Amazonia

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Swifts Apodidae
Genus
Chaetura

Other birds in the genus Chaetura

Grey-rumped SwiftGrey-rumped SwiftChaetura cinereiventrisBand-rumped SwiftBand-rumped SwiftChaetura spinicaudusLesser Antillean SwiftLesser Antillean SwiftChaetura martinicaCosta Rican SwiftCosta Rican SwiftChaetura fumosaPale-rumped SwiftPale-rumped SwiftChaetura egregiaChimney SwiftChimney SwiftChaetura pelagicaVaux's SwiftVaux's SwiftChaetura vauxiChapman's SwiftChapman's SwiftChaetura chapmaniAshy-tailed SwiftAshy-tailed SwiftChaetura andreiSick's SwiftSick's SwiftChaetura meridionalis
Short-tailed Swift

Download illustration

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

WebP · 1070 px

Heard it but can't see it? Mingji identifies birds by sound and photo, on your phone.

In other languages