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Bird name:

Chimney Swift

Chaetura pelagicaOrder: APODIFORMES Family: Swifts (Apodidae)
Codes: Common Name: CHSW Scientific Name: CHAPEL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178001
Least Concern
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Chimney Swift
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Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Clingers Only Feeder
Weather resistant inexpensive feeder is ideal for small birds.
Suet Delight
Easy to hang and maintain, holds all kinds of packaged suet.
Ultimate Woodpecker Feeder
Only allows woodpeckers to feed made of Inland Cedar.
The No-No Copper Feeder
Beautiful copper feeder holds 2.5 lbs of sunflower seeds.
Attracting Clingers

Overview

Chimney Swift: Medium-sized swift, uniformly dark brown with slightly paler throat and upper breast. Inconspicuous spines extend past web at tips of tail feathers. Bill, legs and feet are black. Flight is rapid and batlike on swept-back wings, alternates with gliding. Soars on thermals and updrafts.


Range and Habitat

Chimney Swift: Breeds from southeastern Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, central Ontario, southern Quebec, and Nova Scotia south to Gulf coast states. Spends winters in the tropics. Nests and roosts in chimneys and feeds entirely on the wing over forests, open country, and towns.

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Topo Map: Swallow-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chatter-chatter-chatter"

Interesting Facts

 Chimney Swifts do not perch. Instead they use their long claws to cling to the walls of chimneys and other vertical surfaces.

 These birds fly constantly. They are almost always on the wing except when they are at the nest or on the roost at night. They even bathe in flight by flying low over a body of water, touching the water with their chest and then shaking the water from their feathers.

 The Chimney Swift looks a little strange as it flies. It appears to be beating only one wing at a time. Studies, however, have shown that it actually beats both wings. The illusion is due to the erratic nature of its flight with all the banks and turns.

 A group of swifts are collectively known as a "box", "flock", "screaming frenzy", and "swoop" of swifts.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Yury Lisyak

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Range Map for Chimney Swift

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Family Swift (Apodidae)_blue
Species Chaetura pelagica
Length5.5 Inches
Wingspan12.38 Inches

Chimney Swift

Chimney Swift: Medium-sized swift, uniformly dark brown with slightly paler throat and upper breast. Inconspicuous spines extend past web at tips of tail feathers. Bill, legs and feet are black. Flight is rapid and batlike on swept-back wings, alternates with gliding. Soars on thermals and updrafts.

● Song: "chatter-chatter-chatter"

● Foraging & Feeding: Chimney Swift: Feeds on insects; forages in flight, sometimes quite high. Drinks by skimming the water surface in flight.

● Breeding & nesting: Chimney Swift: Two to seven white eggs are laid in a nest made of twigs cemented together with saliva and fastened to inner wall of a chimney or, rarely, in a cave or hollow tree. Incubation ranges from 19 to 21 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Chimney Swift: Vaux's Swift is somewhat smaller, with shorter wings, paler rump and throat, and different call.

Flight Pattern

Rapid batlike flight.
Chimney Swift Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Chimney Swift: Breeds from southeastern Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, central Ontario, southern Quebec, and Nova Scotia south to Gulf coast states. Spends winters in the tropics. Nests and roosts in chimneys and feeds entirely on the wing over forests, open country, and towns.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial or solitary nester
PopulationFairly common to common
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.8 Ounces
Swallow-like BodyX
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
ChestX
Also called the breast area, it is the frontal area on the body containing the breastplate and major flight muscles.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX