White-chinned Swift

How to find it

Check swifts flying near waterfalls, because that is where this bird is most likely to turn up. Scanning waterfall faces and gorges is the best way to find it. Look at the rock walls where a moss cup might sit in a crevice or under a small overhang. Nests can be hard to see: in western Panama only one of five was easy to view and the rest were partly hidden, so scan the rock faces slowly and carefully. Having other Cypseloides swifts or White-collared Swifts nearby gives you birds to compare against. The egg-laying weeks are a sensible time to focus your effort, since birds are tied to nest waterfalls then.

How to recognise it

This is a small swift about 15 cm long. Look for these marks:

Sooty black plumage.

A short, square tail.

A squat build.

A small, greyish chin patch, not bright white, so the English name promises more than the bird shows.

A tour group in Panama photographed one overhead and noted the long, straight-edged wings, the black plumage and the small pale chin. Expect a dark, compact shape against the sky rather than any bold marking.

Juveniles in Costa Rica lack the clear whitish face of adults. Field marks for the species are poorly documented away from nesting colonies, which is part of why it is so often missed.

Behaviour and diet

It feeds mainly on flying ants and often lives singly behind large waterfalls. In Costa Rica, White-chinned Swifts feed alone or in small groups, and they sometimes join flocks of Chestnut-collared Swifts.

Costa Rican nests are moss cups on rock walls near or behind waterfalls, usually in a crevice or under a small overhang. In Brazil, observers who stepped behind a waterfall curtain flushed a large dark swift, and a moss nest on the damp rock held a warm egg. It is the same waterfall habit seen in Costa Rica.

Where it lives

Across its whole range it lives from sea level up to about 3000 m, and it has been found over many habitats, including heavily altered and human-made areas. Like other Cypseloides swifts, it is usually found fairly near waterfalls and gorges, at least when breeding.

In Costa Rica, nests have been found on the Sardinal River at about 700 m and the Tiribí River at about 1,900 m. Together they show it can be met at river gorges and waterfalls from the foothills to the highlands. Across Central America, records come mainly from the Caribbean slope and lowlands.

When to see it

In Costa Rica, where most breeding information comes from, eggs are laid from early May into early June, the season when birds are tied to their nest waterfalls. Adults are expected to moult their wings around September, after breeding, so a bird without wing moult then may be a juvenile.

Similar birds

It looks very like White-fronted, Rothschild's and Sooty Swifts, and some authorities treat it as the same species as one of these. It is often seen with other Cypseloides swifts and with White-collared Swifts, and is hard to identify without them for comparison.

In Costa Rica the Black Swift nests along the Tiribí River, where this swift also nests, so the two can share a site. Researchers separated them using the wing and tail measurements of a trapped bird. An exposed feather shaft on the tail tips helps, but only on fresh, unworn tails.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

In Costa Rica the bird is called Vencejo Sombrío. Vencejo Canoso is also given for this swift in Costa Rican name lists, and other Spanish names used in its range include Vencejo Barbiblanco, Vencejo Castaño and Vencejo barbilla blanca.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a resident (R), though it is uncommon and rarely recorded, with a patchy range from Belize south to Costa Rica and then in South America.

Photography tips

Nests can be hard to see, so a waterfall search needs careful scanning of the rock faces. A Panama group photographed one overhead from a tower, catching the long straight-edged wings and small pale chin.