Pale-rumped Swift vs African Palm Swift
Chaetura egregia compared with Cypsiurus parvus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Pale-rumped Swift | African Palm Swift |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Chaetura egregia | Cypsiurus parvus |
| Order | Caprimulgiformes | Caprimulgiformes |
| Family | Apodidae | Apodidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 23.4 cm (9.2 in) | 27.2 cm (10.7 in) |
| Weight | 23.68 g (0.84 oz) | 14.38 g (0.51 oz) |
| Diet | Obligate aerial insectivore; gathers small flying insects, winged ants, and airborne spiders during flight. | Exclusively aerial diet; consumes tiny flying insects and spiders, sometimes following insect swarms for km. |
| Clutch Size | -- | 1-3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Pale-rumped Swift
Breathy, rippling chatter with airy quality; light twittering notes loosely strung together in relaxed arrhythmic sequences.
African Palm Swift
Deep, hollow churring trill with resonant bass quality; prolonged vibrating call audible at significant range in open woodland.
Geographic Range & Migration
Pale-rumped Swift
Found in the western Amazon basin from eastern Peru and Bolivia east to central Brazil. Resident in lowland tropical forest near rivers.
African Palm Swift
Found across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Somalia and south to South Africa. Common in open areas near palms; nests in palm leaves.
Conservation Status
Pale-rumped Swift
African Palm Swift
How to Tell Them Apart
Pale-rumped Swift
Small; dark sooty-brown upperparts; distinctively very pale whitish rump strongly contrasting with dark back; underparts dark grey-brown; short spiny tail; Amazonian species with one of the most striking white rumps …
African Palm Swift
Slender and long-tailed; uniformly pale greyish-brown overall; underparts paler grey-buff; long deeply forked tail; pale uniform appearance with no contrasting markings; widespread African palm-nesting swift with distinctive slender silhouette.
About These Birds
Pale-rumped Swift
A small swift (11-12 cm) of humid lowland forests from Colombia to Peru and western Brazil. Dark plumage with a conspicuous pale rump band. Spine-tipped tail. Aerial insectivore, foraging over forest canopy and rivers. Often seen in mixed-species swift flocks.
African Palm Swift
A slender swift (15-17 cm) with long, narrow wings and a deeply forked tail. Dark brown plumage. Found across sub-Saharan Africa in savanna and open woodland, closely associated with palm trees. Aerial insectivore. One of Africa's most abundant swift species.