African Palm Swift vs Pygmy Palm Swift
Cypsiurus parvus compared with Tachornis furcata
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | African Palm Swift | Pygmy Palm Swift |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Cypsiurus parvus | Tachornis furcata |
| Order | Caprimulgiformes | Caprimulgiformes |
| Family | Apodidae | Apodidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 27.2 cm (10.7 in) | 17.8 cm (7.0 in) |
| Weight | 14.38 g (0.51 oz) | 6.75 g (0.24 oz) |
| Diet | Exclusively aerial diet; consumes tiny flying insects and spiders, sometimes following insect swarms for km. | Aerial-only diet of small flying insects, winged termites, and drifting spiders caught during continuous flight. |
| Clutch Size | 1-3 | -- |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
African Palm Swift
Deep, hollow churring trill with resonant bass quality; prolonged vibrating call audible at significant range in open woodland.
Pygmy Palm Swift
Tiny, buzzy chips barely audible beyond two metres; minute high-pitched twittering almost disappearing in ambient sound.
Geographic Range & Migration
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.
Pygmy Palm Swift
Found in Venezuela and adjacent Colombia and Guyana. Resident in lowland savanna near Moriche palms; nests inside palm fronds. Uncommon.
Conservation Status
African Palm Swift
Pygmy Palm Swift
How to Tell Them Apart
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.
Pygmy Palm Swift
Tiny, among the world's smallest swifts; dark brown-black overall; pale buff-white rump patch; underparts pale whitish with dark sides; deeply forked tail; Venezuelan and Colombian palm-nesting species; minute size and …
About These Birds
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.
Pygmy Palm Swift
A tiny swift (9-10 cm) of open savannas and palm groves in Colombia and Venezuela. Dark plumage with a pale rump. Long, forked tail. Aerial insectivore associated with Moriche palms (Mauritia flexuosa), nesting inside palm fronds. One of the smallest swifts.