Sick's Swift

Overview

Sick's swift (Chaetura meridionalis) is a migratory species of swift in the family Apodidae that was previously considered conspecific with the ashy-tailed swift. Its English name commemorates the German-born ornithologist Helmut Sick, who studied South American birds.

Identification

• Upperparts are dark smoky brown.
• Tail is ashy grey with dark shafts and protruding spines.
• Throat is grey, while lower underparts are dark brown.
• Bill and legs are black.

Habitat

It breeds in south-eastern Brazil and adjacent parts of Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia, and is believed to overwinter in the Amazon basin, northern South America and Panama. Its preferred habitat includes lowland evergreen forest edge, secondary forest, open woodland and second-growth scrub.

Diet

Sick's swift feeds in flight on flying insects. It often flies low over roads or clearings in the morning or evening, and rises high above the forest, often with other swifts, in the middle of the day.

Did you know?

The nest, typically placed in a chimney or a hollow tree, is constructed almost entirely of one type of dry leaf stalks having a length of 5 cm and lacks density, making it transparent.