Aeronautes montivagus
Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The white-tipped swift (Aeronautes montivagus) is a species of bird in the subfamily Apodinae of the family Apodidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, and possibly Guyana.
The white-tipped swift was at one time placed in genus Micropus which was later merged into Aeronautes. The white-tipped swift is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long and weighs 17 to 33 g (0.60 to 1.2 oz). It has slim pointed wings and a long slightly notched tail. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are blackish brown on the crown and around the eye; most of the rest of the face is gray brown. Their upperparts are the same blackish brown as the crown. Their tail is black-brown with wide white tips to the feathers. Their wings are blackish brown with white edges on some feathers. Their throat, sides of the neck, and the upper breast are white. The rest of their underparts are a slightly lighter blackish brown than the upperparts, with white patches around the legs. Adult females are browner than males with sometimes a paler lower... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 2 | Amboró National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 3 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-tipped Swift sighting in La Paz on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 72nd most-seen of the 88 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-tipped Swift in La Paz on a given day, against under 5% in July–September and November–May, the lowest months. Those are among La Paz's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against 140 mm in January.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-tipped 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.
Among the best
Of the 2 cities where we can rate White-tipped Swift sightings, La Paz ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Caracas (Venezuela, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-tipped Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in La Paz (11 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.
