Chimney Swift
Chaetura pelagica
Habitat
Aerial
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
24 g
About This Species
Watch the sky over towns and cities in the eastern half of North America at dusk, where this small, cigar-shaped, stiff-winged bird flies almost constantly, feeding on flying insects and rarely perching in view. Its stuttering, chittering calls overhead are often the easiest way to detect it, and in late summer it can be seen gathering into large flocks that funnel into a single chimney to roost communally, a spectacle in itself. The best viewing is at dusk during spring and fall migration, when communal roosts near towns and cities can draw dozens to thousands of swifts circling before dropping in to roost.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Because this species is Vulnerable, extra caution is warranted: watch chimney roosts from a distance on the ground rather than approaching the structure, and never attempt to look into, tap on, or disturb a chimney known to hold a roost or nest, since flushing birds at dusk can cause injury and abandonment.
- It is protected under federal migratory bird law in the US and Canada, and its dependence on chimneys and hollow trees for nesting and roosting means that capping, cleaning, or renovating a chimney during the spring-to-fall season it is in residence can be both harmful and unlawful.
- Avoid shining lights or flash photography at active roost sites, as this can panic a densely packed flock.
Seasonal Activity
3,714,819 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Apodidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Aerial
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 24 g
Photo
(c) biomule, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.