Spot-fronted Swift

Spot-fronted Swift

Cypseloides cherriei

Silhouette: vectorized by Rob Sparks · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at San José

In 3 days <5%

92 Verified sightings at San José
203 In all 8 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Spot-fronted Swift

The spot-fronted swift (Cypseloides cherriei) is a species of bird in subfamily Cypseloidinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. The spot-fronted swift is monotypic.

The spot-fronted swift is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long and weighs about 23 g (0.81 oz). The sexes are alike. They are almost entirely blackish brown with grayish underwings and a white chin. They get their English name from bright white spots on either side of the bill and behind the eyes.

The spot-fronted swift has a scattered distribution. In Costa Rica it is mostly found on the Pacific slope of the Cordillera Central and Cordillera de Talamanca. It is known in Panama from only a few locations and in Colombia and Ecuador from a larger number, though still widely separated. It is almost unknown in far western Venezuela and extreme northern Peru. It mostly inhabits montane forest at elevations between 1,100 and 2,200 m (3,600 and 7,200 ft) but has been documented at 300 m (980 ft) in Ecuador.

It is not known whether the spot-fronted swift is resident... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Flight call1:03

Ecuador · 2020

© Nunes-de-Almeida · XC544528 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:27

Colombia · 2016

© Michele Viganò · XC335060 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:20

Ecuador · 1995

© Mitch Lysinger · XC260449 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
2 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
3 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
4 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
5 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
6 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
7 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
8 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 San José 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Spot-fronted Swift in San José?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Spot-fronted Swift sighting in San José on a given day, based on 92 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 205th most-seen of the 379 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Spot-fronted Swift in San José?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Spot-fronted Swift in San José on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Spot-fronted Swift?

Between 6 and 9 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spot-fronted Swift sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Spot-fronted Swift?

Only San José, in our data

San José is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Spot-fronted Swift sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Where does the Spot-fronted Swift sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Spot-fronted Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in San José (92 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.

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