ML70182871

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

A group of at least 7 individuals was seen overhead over a period of about 15 mins making multiple passes during that time. Michael Retter and I were immediately interested in these birds as they were clearly not of the genus Chaetura. Their wingbeats were deeper and seemingly slower as a result, but with almost no stalling or circling. They did not have the fast, shallow, fluttering flight of Chaeturas. Flight style, in combination with long pointed wings, squared tails, and white frosting to their bellies had us immediately thinking in the realm of White-chinned/Spot-fronted Swifts. Though after reaching out to a number of Advanced ID forums the consensus is that the flight style of our birds better matches White-chinned than Spot-fronted (which flies more like a Chaetura). There was also a hint of pale in the chins of these birds which is not captured well in the photographs. If there was a large pale area in the loral area of these birds it would be much easier to see than the chin color, and it appears not to be present in the lores, nor did we note it in the field. After a bit of time photographing these silent birds in confusion the group let out a series of low gruff calls sounding very different than anything either of us had ever heard from a swift. After reviewing recording on Xeno-Canto and after speaking with many experts the consensus is also that the vocalizations we heard are much more aligned with White-chinned than Spot-fronted (which is higher and twittery; more like a Black Swift).

Technical information

Dimensions

501 pixels x 366 pixels

Original file size

10.31 KB