Chimney Swift

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Chimney Swift

The Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) is a small swift

Swift

The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows but are actually not closely related to those passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with the hummingbirds....
.

Reproduction
The breeding season of Chimney swifts is from May through July.

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Encyclopedia

The Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) is a small swift

Swift

Physical description

In flight, this bird looks like a flying cigar with long slender curved wings. The plumage is a sooty grey-brown; the throat, breast, underwings and rump are paler. They have short tails.

Reproduction

The breeding season of Chimney swifts is from May through July. Their breeding habitat is near towns and cities across eastern North America

North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
. Originally, these birds nested in large hollow trees, but now they mainly nest in man-made structures such as large open chimneys. The nest is made of twigs glued together with saliva

Saliva

Saliva is the watery and usually frothy substance produced in the mouths of humans and most other animals. Saliva is produced in and secreted from the salivary glands....
and placed in a shaded location. They will lay three to seven white eggs, which the female will cover at night. The incubation

Avian incubation

Incubation is the process by which birds hatch their Egg , and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period....
period is 19-20 days, and the fledgling

Fledgling

Fledgling or Fledglings may refer to:* Curtiss Fledgling, a trainer aircraft* Fergie's Fledglings, a group of Manchester United players recruited under the management of Alex Ferguson...
s leave the nest after a month. Chimney swifts can nest more than once in a season.

Behavior

They are long distance migrants

Bird migration

Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather....
and winter in eastern Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
; other nesting locations in South America

South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
may exist. They migrate in flocks. This species has occurred as a very rare vagrant to western Europe. The gregarious nature of this species is reflected in that two individuals of this species turned up together on the Isles of Scilly

Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornwall of Great Britain. Traditionally administered as part of the county of Cornwall, the islands are now a unitary authority and have their own council....
.

Feeding habits

These birds live on the wing, foraging in flight. They eat flying insect

Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s. They usually feed in groups, flying closely together and making a high-pitched chipping noise. A vigilant observer can see them entering and exiting chimneys at a high speed, almost as if they were being shot out. Their flight is distinctive: they make rapid angular turns unlike most other birds.

Their population may have increased historically with the introduction of large chimneys as nesting locations. With suitable man-made habitat becoming less common, their numbers are declining in some areas. They were listed as Threatened by COSEWIC

Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada is an independent committee of wildlife experts and scientists whose "raison d??tre is to identify species at risk" in Canada....
for several years with a likely listing of the species on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act.

External links

--Driftwood Wildlife Association
--Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
--U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
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