Scarce Swift

Scarce Swift

Schoutedenapus myoptilus

Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Lake Mburo National Park

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

9 Verified sightings at Lake Mburo National Park From 2019 to 2026
378 In all 11 parks
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Scarce Swift

The scarce swift (Schoutedenapus myoptilus) is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It has a disjunct range of presence throughout the Afromontane : Cameroon line, Albertine Rift montane forests, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.

It is the only species in the genus Schoutedenapus. Schouteden's swift (Schoutedenapus schoutedeni) was previously considered a distinct species, but was found to be a darker juvenile or sub-adult scarce swift subspecies chapini.

Scarce swift - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:46

Kenya · 2024

© Peter Boesman · XC948465 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Flight call1:13

Tanzania · 2017

© Frank Lambert · XC430148 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:06

Kenya · 2022

© Lars Lachmann · XC756806 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
2 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~10%
3 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
4 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
5 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
6 Volcanoes National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
7 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
8 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
9 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
10 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
11 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Scarce Swift in Lake Mburo National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Scarce Swift sighting in Lake Mburo National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 321st most-seen of the 362 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Scarce Swift in Lake Mburo National Park?

September

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Scarce Swift in Lake Mburo National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Scarce Swift?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Scarce Swift sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Which relatives of the Scarce Swift live in Lake Mburo National Park?

Same family: Apodidae

The closest relatives of the Scarce Swift that you can see in Lake Mburo National Park (family Apodidae, Swifts) are White-rumped Swift (about 10%), African Palm-Swift (about 10%) and Little Swift (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Scarce Swift sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Scarce Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in Lake Mburo National Park (9 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.

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