White-throated Swift

White-throated Swift

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About the map

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White-throated Swift in flight

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Reproduction
7. Conservation Status
8. Other Names

One of the fastest flying birds in North America, the White-throated Swift is a common sight in the canyons, foothills, and mountains of the American West.

Cool Facts

• A highly social creature, the White-throated Swift sleeps in roosts of hundreds of birds, typically in larger cavities in cliffs and large rocks. In the evening they gather above a roost, ascending beyond view and then descend as a group. With a swirling in front of the roost crack, individuals enter the roost several abreast. Occasionally one misses, bouncing off the entrance to rejoin the swirling mass.

Description

• Size: 15-18 cm (6-7 in)
• Weight: 28-36 g (0.99-1.27 ounces)

• Small bird.
• Black back, wings, and tail.
• White throat, belly, and sides of rump.
• Body cylindrical.
• Wings long, pointed, and swept back.

Sex Differences

Sexes alike.

Immature

Similar to adult, but duller.

Similar Species

• All other swifts lack black-and-white pattern.
• Violet-green Swallow is pure white below, and lacks black sides and flanks.

Sound

Call a long descending series of scraping notes.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Breeds from the southern interior of British Columbia southward to Mexico and Honduras, eastward to western South Dakota and eastern New Mexico.

Winter Range

Winters from central California and central New Mexico southward through Mexican and Central American breeding range.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Simple cup constructed of felt-like substance made from a variety of materials gathered on the wing, stuck together with gluelike saliva. Attached to vertical cliff wall or on ledge.

Egg Description

White

Conservation Status

Populations may be declining.

Other Names

Martinet à gorge blanche (French)
Vencejo pecho blanco (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Ryan, T. P., C. T. Collins. 2000. White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis). In The Birds of North America, No. 526 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.