Black Swift (Cypseloides niger)

Other Scientific Names
Nephoecetes niger [Stotz et al. (1996)]

Other Names (World)
Black Swift, American Black Swift

Family
Apodidae (Swifts)

Size
18 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Gmelin, 1789)

Habitat
Subtropical and tropical montane moist forest. From 1,000 - 3,000 m.

Range (Guide)

Anguilla, Antigua And Barbuda, Barbados, Canada (B), Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica (B), Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, St Kitts And Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, USA (B), Venezuela, Virgin Islands (British) (P), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (P).

Vagrant to Colombia.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 150,000 (2010).

Status VU
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (15)...)

American Black Swift (Cypseloides niger) [XC14997]
by Ian Cruickshank from Andrews Glacier Cave, Rocky Mountain NP, Larimer Co., Colorado, United States (call, song)

American Black Swift (Cypseloides niger) [XC17796]
by Nathan Pieplow from Andrews Glacier Cave, Rocky Mountain NP, Larimer Co., Colorado, United States (call)

Subspecies
Forms superspecies with White-chested Swift (Cypseloides lemosi), Rothschild's Swift (Cypseloides rothschildi) and Sooty Swift (Cypseloides fumigatus). Darkness of plumage varies within range of nominate. Proposed subspecies jamaicensis, from southern West Indies, now considered synonymous with nominate.

The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

borealis (Kennerly, 1858) - Western North America south to south-western USA. Winters in South America.
costaricensis Ridgway, 1910 - Central Mexico south to Costa Rica. Winters south of Mexican Isthmus.
niger (Gmelin, 1789) - West Indies to Trinidad.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Black Swift (Cypseloides niger) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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