Chimney Swift
Chimney Swift
Chaetura pelagica
At a Glance
Chimney Swift is the only swift that occurs regularly in the east. It once nested in hollow trees, but today it nearly always nests in chimneys or other human-made structures. Because the bird can be easily captured and banded in such situations, it has been studied much more thoroughly than other North American swifts. In late summer, hundreds or even thousands of individuals may roost in one large chimney, gathering in spectacular flocks overhead near dusk.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Swallow-like Birds, Swifts
IUCN Status
Vulnerable
Habitat
Coasts and Shorelines, Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Forests and Woodlands, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets, Urban and Suburban Habitats
Region
California, Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Southwest, Texas, Western Canada
Behavior
Erratic, Rapid Wingbeats, Swooping
Population
8.800.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Migrates in flocks, apparently by day. A long-distance migrant, the Chimney Swift winters in eastern Peru and perhaps elsewhere in the Amazon Basin of South America.
Description
Sexes similar — Length: 4.7 - 5.9 in (12 - 15 cm); wingspan: 11 - 12.6 in (27 - 32 cm); weight: 0.6 - 1.1 oz (17 - 30 g). Gray overall, the Chimney Swift is best known by its shape: stubby at both ends, with scimitar-shaped wings (sometimes called "a cigar with wings").
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Black, Gray, White
Wing Shape
Long, Narrow, Pointed, Swept, Tapered
Tail Shape
Rounded, Short, Square-tipped, Wedge-shaped
Songs and Calls
Chimney Swifts can be heard giving loud, chattering twitters.
Call Pattern
Flat, Undulating
Call Type
Chatter, Chirp/Chip, High, Trill
Habitat
Open sky, especially over cities and towns. A Chimney Swift will forage in the sky over any kind of terrain, wherever there are flying insects. They are now most common over towns and cities; within its range, few forests remain with hollow trees large enough to serve as nest sites for a Chimney Swift colony.
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Behavior
Eggs
Generally a chimney swift will lay 4-5 eggs, sometimes 3-6. Eggs are white. Incubation is by both parents for 19-21 days.
Young
Parents feed the young by regurgitating insects. The young may climb out of the nest after about 20 days, creeping up vertical walls, and reach first flight at about 28–30 days.
Feeding Behavior
Forages only while flying, pursuing insects and scooping them out of the air. The Chimney Swift often flies high but will forage very low during wet weather. The Chimney Swift is typically seen foraging in small flocks.
Diet
Diet consists primarily of flying insects. Beyond that a Chimney Swift will feed on a wide variety of insects, including beetles, flies, true bugs, moths, and spiders. Chimney Swifts will concentrate at times on swarming insects, such as emergences of winged adult ants.
Nesting
Courtship involves aerial displays; in one display, two Chimney Swifts fly close together, one following the other, both gliding with wings held up in a V. The breeding pair is often assisted by an extra adult “helper.” Chimney Swift nests are built inside a chimney or similar hollow tower, usually well down from the opening in a well-shaded area, and originally nested (and sometimes still does) inside large hollow trees. The nest, built by both sexes, is shaped like half a saucer and made of twigs glued together with the birds’ saliva, with adults breaking off short dead twigs while zooming past in flight.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Increases in numbers followed the adaptation to nesting in chimneys which are much more readily available than hollow trees. In recent decades Chimney Swift numbers have declined in some areas, but overall they are still widespread and common.
Climate Threats Facing the Chimney Swift
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
