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Bird name:

Fork-tailed Swift

Apus pacificusOrder: APODIFORMES Family: Swifts (Apodidae)

Codes: Common Name: FTSW Scientific Name: APUPAC ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178008

Head

Topo Map: Swallow-like Head

Bill Shape: All-purpose
Eye Color: Black.
Head Pattern: Plain
Crown Color: Brown-black
Forehead Color: Brown-black
Nape Color: Brown-black
Throat Color: White
Cere color: No Data

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Body

Topo Map: Swallow-like Body

Length Range: 19-20 cm (7.5-8 in)
Weight: 48 g (1.7 oz)
Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
Color: White, Brown, Black
Underparts: Brown-black
Upperparts: Brown-black with white rump.
Back Pattern: Solid
Belly Pattern: Solid
Breast Pattern: Solid

Flight

Topo Map: Swallow-like Flight

Flight Pattern: Rapid dashing flight on stiff rapidly beating swept-back wings, alternating with gliding flight.
Wingspan Range: 48-53 cm (19-21 in)
Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
Tail Shape: Forked Tail
Tail Pattern: Solid
Upper Tail: Brown-black
Under Tail: Brown-black
Leg Color: Gray-black

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Fork-tailed Swift

Fork-tailed Swift: Large swift, brown-black overall with white throat and rump, scaled belly, and long, deeply forked tail. Bill is black, legs and feet are gray-black. Rapid flight on stiff, quickly beating swept-back wings, alternating with gliding flight. Catches insects midflight.

● Song: "chree-chree-chree-chree-chree", "spee-err"

● Foraging & Feeding: Fork-tailed Swift: Feeds on insects; forages in flight.

● Breeding & nesting: Fork-tailed Swift: Two to three white eggs are laid in a nest made of grass, moss, and leaves, glued together with sticky saliva, and built on a cliff ridge or under a roof crevice; usually nests near water. Incubation ranges from 19 to 22 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Fork-tailed Swift: Other swifts lack deeply forked tail.

Flight Pattern

Rapid dashing flight on stiff rapidly beating swept-back wings, alternating with gliding flight.

● Range & Habitat: Fork-tailed Swift: A rare vagrant in western Europe, but has been recorded as far west as Norway and Great Britain; spends winters south to Australia. Casual to rare summer visitor on the western Aleutians and Pribilof islands of Alaska. Preferred habitats include mountains and human habitations, usually near water.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial

^PopulationCasual to rare

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.7 Ounces

Swallow-like Head

Swallow-like Body

Swallow-like Flight

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

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.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Fork-tailed Swift

Head

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Body

Flight

Fork-tailed Swift

Flight Pattern