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Band-rumped Swift | Chaetura spinicaudus
Witbandgierzwaluw | Vencejo lomibandeado
The Band-rumped Swift is a small, dark swift of the lowland forests of northern South America. In the Caribbean it occurs only on Trinidad, where, with Grey-rumped and Short-tailed Swifts, it is one of three small Chaetura species. The narrow pale band across the rump is the key feature.
Voice
A distinctive two-syllable psee-trr or a burrier prrree-trtr, as well as repeated high notes, tsee-tsee-tsee.
Recording: rudy gelis — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
10–12 cm, small, with a short, spiny tail and wings that bulge in the middle and curve slightly at the tip. Upperparts blackish brown, with a narrow, sharply defined whitish band across the rump; the uppertail coverts are dark again. The underparts are dark, with a slightly paler, greyish throat. The sexes are alike.
Confusion species
Grey-rumped Swift Chaetura cinereiventris has a broad grey rump extending onto the uppertail coverts and clearly paler grey underparts. Short-tailed Swift Chaetura brachyura has an even shorter tail, a pale rump that continues into a pale undertail, and browner underparts. Fork-tailed Palm Swift Tachornis squamata is slimmer, with a long, pointed, forked tail and pale underparts.
Habitat
Over the edges of lowland rainforest and moist forest, secondary forest, swamp forest and open, cleared ground near forest, mainly in the lowlands and lower hills. It hunts flying insects in small groups. On Trinidad it nests in hollow trees; little else is known of its breeding.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation types of the Caribbean.
Range and movements
Within the region only on Trinidad, mainly in the lowlands and the foothills of the Northern Range; not known from Tobago. Outside the region in eastern Venezuela, the Guianas and northern and central Brazil, with another subspecies from Panama to south-western Ecuador.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Over forest edges and clearings in the lowlands and lower valleys of Trinidad, for example in the Arima Valley and near swamp forest in the east of the island. Mixed groups of small swifts are best seen against a dark background of forested slopes, where the narrow white rump band stands out.
Conservation status
Not threatened. The species has a large range and is fairly common on Trinidad. Loss of old trees with cavities may locally limit nest sites.
Scientific name
Chaetura spinicaudus | (Temminck, 1839)
Temminck described the species in 1839 as Cypselus spinicaudus; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Chaetura was introduced in 1826 by Stephens. Chaetura is Greek, from khaitē 'hair, bristle' and oura 'tail', after the spiny projecting shafts of the tail feathers. spinicaudus is Latin, from spina 'spine' and cauda 'tail', after the spiny shaft tips of the tail. The specimen the first description was based on came from Cayenne, French Guiana.