Sooty Swift vs White-chested Swift
Cypseloides fumigatus compared with Cypseloides lemosi
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Sooty Swift | White-chested Swift |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Cypseloides fumigatus | Cypseloides lemosi |
| Order | Caprimulgiformes | Caprimulgiformes |
| Family | Apodidae | Apodidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 29.0 cm (11.4 in) | 30.0 cm (11.8 in) |
| Weight | 41.666666666666664 g (1.47 oz) | 28.400000000000002 g (1.00 oz) |
| Diet | Catches aerial plankton — tiny midges, gnats, and ballooning spiders — continuously during soaring flight. | Obligate aerial forager catching small flies, aphids, winged termites, and airborne spiders on the wing. |
| Clutch Size | 1 | -- |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Sooty Swift
Soft twittering 'tsit-tsit'; thin, buzzy notes in flight; calls over Neotropical waterfalls and gorges; quiet, raspy trill; rarely as vocal as larger swift species
White-chested Swift
High, thin twittering; soft 'tsit' calls in flight; calls over Colombian waterfalls; very poorly known; thin, reedy contact notes; one of most rarely documented swifts
Geographic Range & Migration
Sooty Swift
Found in the Guiana Shield and Amazon Basin in Brazil, Venezuela, and the Guianas. Nomadic; associated with rocky outcrops and waterfalls.
White-chested Swift
Known from Colombia and adjacent Ecuador. One of the world's rarest swifts; recorded at waterfalls in humid forest foothills at 500–1,200 m.
Conservation Status
Sooty Swift
White-chested Swift
How to Tell Them Apart
Sooty Swift
Uniformly dark sooty-brown plumage throughout; no contrasting pale markings anywhere; slightly paler brownish-grey on throat; large and uniform; South American species whose entirely dark coloration recalls blackish swiftlets but much …
White-chested Swift
Black upperparts and wings; distinctive large white chest patch contrasting sharply with black throat and belly; white confined to central breast; Colombian endemic with unique bold bicoloured plumage unlike any …
About These Birds
Sooty Swift
A medium-sized swift (15-17 cm) found in subtropical and montane forests of southeastern Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Sooty-brown plumage. Aerial insectivore, foraging over forested gorges and waterfalls. Nests behind waterfalls on wet rock faces.
White-chested Swift
A medium-sized swift (14-15 cm) endemic to the upper Cauca Valley of Colombia. Sooty-black plumage with a white breast patch. Aerial insectivore of subtropical forests. Classified as Endangered due to extremely restricted range and ongoing habitat loss.