Bird Guide › White-throated Swift

How to Identify aWhite-throated Swift

Aeronautes saxatalis · 6.3–7.1 in (16–18 cm)

Male vs. female

Male

Blackish overall with a white throat running down the centre of the breast, white flank patches and a long narrow forked tail. Sexes look alike.

Female

Identical to the male in the field.

Male photo: Michael Woodruff from Spokane, Washington, USA / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0 · Second photo: Dominic Sherony / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0

Quick ID

A black-and-white cigar-shaped swift that rockets along cliff faces on stiff scythe-like wings.

Field marks

White stripe down the throat and centre of the belly
White patches on the flanks
Long, stiff, swept-back wings
Extremely fast, direct flight along cliffs

Similar species

Violet-green Swallow — Has broader wings, green iridescence and a slower fluttering flight.

Chimney Swift — Uniformly sooty with no white markings; found in the East.

What it sounds like

A loud, descending, laughing chatter given in flight, often from courting pairs.

Behaviour that gives it away

Mates in mid-air, with pairs clinging together and tumbling hundreds of feet before separating.

Habitat & range

Cliffs, canyons, rocky mountains and tall buildings in the West.

When you'll see it

Depending on where in western and southwestern North America you are, it is present all year and a summer visitor that arrives to breed.

What it eats

Flying insects caught entirely on the wing.

Did you know?

Pairs mate in flight, locking together and tumbling in a free fall of hundreds of feet before breaking apart.

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