Cypseloides fumigatus
Silhouette: vectorized by Rob Sparks · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The sooty swift (Cypseloides fumigatus) is a species of bird in subfamily Cypseloidinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The sooty swift, Rothschild's swift (Cypseloides rothschildi), white-chested swift, (C. lemosi), and American black swift (C. niger) form a superspecies. Some authors have treated sooty and Rothschild's swifts as conspecific. The sooty swift is monotypic.
The sooty swift is about 15 cm (5.9 in) long. Males weigh about 42 g (1.5 oz) and females about 41 g (1.4 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a brown head, a black patch around the eye, and lighter brown forehead and cheeks. Their back is a darker brown than the head. The upper side of their tail is brown and the underside a grayer brown. The upper side of the wing is mostly blackish brown and the underside somewhat lighter. Juveniles have some gray fringing on the body and wings but are otherwise like adults.
The sooty swift is found from southern Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil south to Rio Grande do Sul, eastern Paraguay, and northern Argentina's Misiones Province. There... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Swift sighting in Iguazú National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 286th most-seen of the 343 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Swift in Iguazú National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sooty 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.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Sooty Swift sightings, Iguazú National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, about 10%), Chapada Diamantina National Park (Brazil, under 5%) and Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sooty Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in Iguazú National Park (22 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.
