Chaetura chapmani
Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Chapman's swift (Chaetura chapmani) is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, Venezuela, and possibly Ecuador.
For a time in the late 20th century viridipennis was treated as a separate species, the "Amazonian" or "Mato Grosso" swift but taxonomic systems soon returned to the previous two-subspecies model. Long ago, Chapman's swift, chimney swift (C. pelagica), and Vaux's swift (C. vauxi) were treated as a single species.
The species' English name and specific epithet honor "that famous student of Neotropical birds, Frank M. Chapman". Chapman's swift is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 20.75 to 28 g (0.73 to 0.99 oz). It has a protruding head, a short square tail, and wings that bulge in the middle and somewhat hook at the end. The sexes are alike. The nominate subspecies has glossy black upperparts with a dark gray rump and uppertail coverts. Its underparts are entirely dark brown. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brownsberg Nature Park | 🇸🇷 Suriname | |
| 2 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chapman's Swift sighting in Anavilhanas National Park on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 145th most-seen of the 291 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chapman's Swift in Anavilhanas National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October and December–May, the lowest months.
Between 4 and 7 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chapman's Swift sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Chapman's Swift sightings, Anavilhanas National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Brownsberg Nature Park (Suriname, about 10%).
Same genus: Chaetura
The closest relatives of the Chapman's Swift that you can see in Anavilhanas National Park (genus Chaetura, Chaetura Swifts) are Short-tailed Swift (about 10%), Gray-rumped Swift (about 10%) and Band-rumped Swift (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chapman's Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in Anavilhanas National Park (27 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
