Tachornis squamata
Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
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 |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Fork-tailed Palm-Swift sighting in Emas National Park on a given day, based on 71 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 52nd most-seen of the 187 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Fork-tailed Palm-Swift in Emas National Park on a given day, against about 10% in June, the lowest month. That is one of Emas National Park's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 190 mm in January. April and December–February have too few records to rate.
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.
Among the best
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Fork-tailed Palm-Swift sightings, Emas National Park ranks 3rd at about 40%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (Ecuador, about 40%) and Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fork-tailed Palm-Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in Emas National Park (71 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.
