Tachornis squamata
Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The fork-tailed palm swift or Neotropical palm swift (Tachornis squamata) is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found across most of northern South America and on Trinidad and Tobago.
The fork-tailed palm swift was for a time placed in genus Reinarda that was later merged into Tachornis. Despite the similarity in their names, it is in a different genus than the Old World Cypsiurus African, Malagasy, and Asian palm swifts.
The fork-tailed palm swift is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs 9 to 13.6 g (0.32 to 0.48 oz). It has long narrow wings and a long deeply forked tail. The sexes are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies T. s. squamata have blackish brown upperparts with a slight greenish gloss and pale gray edges on the feathers; the rump is slightly paler. Their cheeks are grayish brown and the throat very pale brownish white with dusky mottling. The rest of their underparts are pale with light brown mottling that is sparsest in the center of the belly. Their undertail coverts are blackish brown with pale edges. Juveniles... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 3 | Emas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 6 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 8 | Caroni Swamp | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 9 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 10 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 11 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 12 | Brownsberg Nature Park | 🇸🇷 Suriname |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Fork-tailed Palm-Swift sighting in Brasilia on a given day, based on 159 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 35th most-seen of the 141 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Fork-tailed Palm-Swift in Brasilia on a given day, against under 5% in February to April, the lowest months. That is one of Brasilia's wettest months, with about 220 mm of rain against almost none in July.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fork-tailed Palm-Swift sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 14
Of the 14 cities where we can rate Fork-tailed Palm-Swift sightings, Brasilia ranks 8th at about 20%. The best odds are in João Pessoa (Brazil, about 50%), Fortaleza (Brazil, about 50%) and Maceió (Brazil, about 40%).
Same order: Apodiformes
The closest relatives of the Fork-tailed Palm-Swift that you can see in Brasilia (order Apodiformes, Swifts and Hummingbirds) are Swallow-tailed Hummingbird (about 50%) and Glittering-throated Emerald (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fork-tailed Palm-Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in Brasilia (159 verified sightings), 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.
