chimney swift

n.
A small, dark, swallowlike New World bird (Chaetura pelagica) that frequently nests in chimneys.

Chaetura pelagica

SUBFAMILY

Chaeturinae

TAXONOMY

Hirundo pelagica Linnaeus, 1758, South Carolina, USA. Monotypic

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Martinet ramoneur; German: Schornsteinsegler; Spanish: Vencejo de Chimenea.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

4.6–5.4 in (12–14 cm); 0.8–1.0 oz (21.5–28.0 g); average mass of 0.7–1.0 oz (20–23 g) during breeding season, and 0.9–1.0 oz (26–28 g) during pre-migration period. Sooty gray upperparts; dark gray-brown underparts with lighter throat.

DISTRIBUTION

Eastern North America west to Rocky Mountains; occasional breeder in California and southwest in recent years. Migrates through Central America to wintering grounds in Peru and northern Chile. Extralimital in Galapagos, West Indies, Bermuda, and British Isles.

HABITAT

Widespread occurring over open country, forested areas, and urban centers.

BEHAVIOR

Makes dashing flights in small groups and rapid chippering vocalizations; nests in chimneys more often than in hollow trees. Helpers at nests of breeding pairs may be young pre-breeders or failed breeders.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

A wide variety of insects taken, including aerial insects and some spiders.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Nest of twigs glued together and to the wall of the hollow tree or chimney with salivary cement. Clutch is two to seven eggs, more typically four to five, laid between May and mid-July. Incubation takes 19–21 days and chicks fledge after an additional 28–30 days, although they may have vacated the crowded nest as much as a week earlier.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Although still common to abundant in most parts of its breeding range, population numbers appear to be declining, probably due to closure or screening of chimney nest sites in urban and suburban areas. Construction of artificial chimney-like structures as alternative nest sites is proving effective.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.

Chaetura pelagica 5-5½″ (13-14 cm). Larger than Vaux's Swift; darker, especially on underparts and throat. Any small dark swift cast of the Rockies would almost certainly be this species.

Range: Eastern N. America. Winters in Peru.

Habitat: Open sky, especially over cities, towns; nests in chimneys.

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: American swift that nests in e.g. unused chimneys
  Synonyms: chimney swallow, Chateura pelagica

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