Overview
The chimney swift (Chaetura pelagica) is a bird belonging to the swift family Apodidae. A member of the genus Chaetura, it is closely related to both Vaux's swift and Chapman's swift; in the past, the three were sometimes considered to be conspecific. It has no subspecies. The chimney swift is a medium-sized, sooty gray bird with very long, slender wings and very short legs.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds eastern North America; winters in coastal Peru and northern Chile, in Amazonian Peru, and probably in western Brazil.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Chimney swift
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
