Tachornis squamata
Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fork-tailed Palm-Swift sighting in Henri Pittier National Park on a given day, based on 62 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 113th most-seen of the 358 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Fork-tailed Palm-Swift in Henri Pittier National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August–October and December, the lowest months.
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.
7th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Fork-tailed Palm-Swift sightings, Henri Pittier National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (Ecuador, about 40%), Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, about 40%) and Emas National Park (Brazil, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Apodidae
The closest relatives of the Fork-tailed Palm-Swift that you can see in Henri Pittier National Park (family Apodidae, Swifts) are White-collared Swift (about 20%), White-tipped Swift (about 20%) and Vaux's Swift (about 20%), 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 Henri Pittier National Park (62 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.
