Deep Forest Canopy
Species Radar
Swifts

Chimney Swift

Chaetura pelagica

The chimney swift is a bird belonging to the swift family Apodidae. A member of the genus Chaetura, it is closely related to both Vaux's swift and Chapman's swift; in the past, the three were sometimes considered to be conspecific. It has no subspecies. The chimney swift is a medium-sized, sooty gray bird with very long, slender wings and very short legs. Like all swifts, it is incapable of perching on flat surfaces, and can only perch on vertical surfaces. Many fly around all day and only come down at night when roosting.

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Select a tracking region above to ping the eBird database and reveal live hotspots for the Chimney Swift.

Low-Light Telephoto Systems

Identifying specific features of the Chimney Swift requires high-contrast magnification. Check out the top-rated 8x42 optics.

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