Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift

How to find it

Scan the sky over open lowland country, where it flies high and fast, often alone or in a pair. Late afternoon and dusk can be a good time. At Villa Lapas, a guide saw two pairs flying high over the valley just before dark. Open lowland areas near wetlands can also work: a birder saw these swifts above the trees at Los Chiles, in the north, while Barn Swallows and kingfishers were active. Check for the white throat and long forked tail.

How to recognise it

This is a small swift, mostly glossy blue-black, with a white throat and upper breast.

The white continues as a narrow collar around the back of the neck. The tail is long and deeply forked.

Other marks are a white spot in front of the eye and a white tuft on each side of the rump. The bill and legs are black.

Across its whole range it is about 13 cm long and weighs about 18 g. The long wings are narrow, and the forked tail is often held closed.

Guides compare the flight shape to a Barn Swallow, but this is a swift with a bold black and white pattern.

Behaviour and diet

It catches flying insects in the air, especially winged ants. It is usually alone or in pairs, and it normally feeds above other swifts that are present, so check the highest birds in a mixed flock.

The nest is a sleeve-shaped tube about 1 m long, made of plant down and feathers glued with saliva. It hangs from a tree branch, a trunk or a man-made structure, with the entrance at the bottom.

In Costa Rica it is said to breed from January to June, laying 2 or 3 eggs.

Where it lives

This is a lowland resident. It flies over forest, pastures, crops, towns and wide rivers.

On the Caribbean side it lives in valleys and on slopes up to 800 m. On the Pacific side it ranges from Parrita south, rising to at least 1000 m around the General, Térraba and Coto Brus valleys.

It is found in lowland areas such as the Zona Norte, and it appears on the bird lists of the Turrialba area and of Cloudbridge Nature Reserve.

When to see it

A Costa Rican source gives its breeding months as January to June. Late afternoon and dusk can be a good time to scan the sky.

Similar birds

At La Selva, Gray-rumped Swifts are the common small swifts over the entrance clearing. The Lesser Swallow-tailed is the rarer, sleeker one, with a long forked tail and a bold black and white pattern. The Great Swallow-tailed Swift (Vencejo Tijereta Mayor) is similar, but the official Costa Rica list shows it only as a rare vagrant without a documented record, so the lesser is the one to expect.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Other Spanish names listed for this swift include vencejo rabihorcado, vencejo tijereta, vencejo negro azul, vencejo collar blanco, vencejo golondrino chico, macuá menor and pájaro macuá. Costa Rica's official list uses Vencejo Tijereta Menor (Macuá).

In folklore across Central and northwestern South America it is called the macuá bird, and people attach magical properties to its song or nest. A Costa Rican news piece repeats the saying that the macuá mates only once in its life.

Status and conservation

The official Costa Rican list marks it as a resident (R), and the IUCN rates the species Least Concern.

Photography tips

Expect distant, fast flyers and poor light. Birds have still been overhead at dusk, high over a valley, when it was almost too dark to see.