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Rothschild's Swift | Cypseloides rothschildi
Rothschilds gierzwaluw | Vencejo pardusco | Taperuçu-de-rothschild
Rothschild's Swift is a medium-sized, plain brown swift of the Yungas, the montane forests on the eastern slope of the Andes in Bolivia and north-western Argentina. It is one of the least known swifts of South America: almost nothing is known about its breeding sites, breeding season or movements.
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Voice
A short pip or peep in flight; very few sound recordings exist.
Recording: Niels Krabbe — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
15 cm, with long, broad wings and a short, almost square tail. The plumage is plain mid-brown, with the head and underparts barely paler than the upperparts. There are no white or coloured markings. The sexes are alike; juveniles are not well described.
Confusion species
Chestnut-collared Swift Streptoprocne rutila is smaller and darker; the male has a rufous collar. White-collared Swift Streptoprocne zonaris is much larger and black, with a white collar. Chaetura species are smaller, with narrower wings and often a paler rump.
Habitat
Airspace over evergreen montane forest of the Yungas and adjacent valleys, mostly between 500 and 2000 m. It hunts flying insects, often together with other swifts. Nothing is known about the nest; related species breed on wet rock faces at waterfalls.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
In Bolivia on the eastern slope of the Andes, in the Yungas of the centre and south of the country, north to about Santa Cruz and Cochabamba. There are no confirmed records from Peru. Absent from Colombia, Ecuador and the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in north-western Argentina, south to Córdoba.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Watch over forested valleys in the Yungas of southern Bolivia, especially when cloud is low. A plain brown swift with a square tail in a flock of other swifts is worth checking; photographs help with identification.
Conservation status
Least Concern. Much of the Yungas within its range has been logged or converted to farmland; the effects on the species are unknown.
Scientific name
Cypseloides rothschildi | Zimmer, 1945
Zimmer described the species in 1945 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. The genus Cypseloides was introduced in 1848 by Streubel. The genus name combines the genus Cypselus (from Greek kupselos, 'swift') with Greek -oidēs, 'resembling'. The species name honours Lionel Walter Rothschild (1868–1937), British banker and zoologist who founded the natural history museum at Tring. The specimen the first description was based on came from (according to the description).