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White-throated Swifts
This bird is one of the fastest of all birds!
© Julio Mulero
A pair of White-throated Swifts twists and turns, sailing through the air. Dashing headlong across the canyon toward an unyielding wall, the birds disappear at the last second into a slender crevice. This swift is aptly named — and doubly so. The White-throated Swift is among the fastest of all birds. And its lyrical, scientific name suits it perfectly: Aeronautes saxatalis - sailor of the air who dwells in the rocks.
BirdNote®
White-throated Swifts
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is BirdNote!
[White-throated Swifts chattering in flight]
A torrent of shrill notes ricochets off the sheer stone walls of a Western canyon. [White-throated Swifts chattering in flight]
A pair of White-throated Swifts careens by at high speed, revealing boldly patterned bodies. They twist and turn, sailing through the air on black, scimitar-shaped wings spanning 15 inches. Dashing headlong across the canyon toward an unyielding wall, the birds disappear at the last second into a slender crevice. [White-throated Swifts chattering in flight]
This swift is aptly named — and doubly so. Flying at tremendous speed, the White-throated Swift is indeed swift, among the fastest of all birds. And its lyrical, scientific name suits it perfectly: Aeronautes saxatalis* — sailor of the air who dwells in the rocks. [White-throated Swifts chattering in flight]
Swifts leave the air only to nest or roost in a cavity. You’ll never see one perched. They do everything else while airborne. Ornithologist Percy Taverner said of them, “When mating, a pair meet…high in the air, cling together as though embracing for a moment …drop down hundreds of feet, then separate and catch themselves on their wings…” [White-throated Swifts chattering in flight]
The White-throated Swift is on the watchlist of many conservation organizations. To learn more, visit our website, BirdNote.org.
Support for BirdNote comes from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, presenting its new “Bird Photography” online course, featuring Melissa Groo. Learn more at academy.allaboutbirds.org.
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White-throated Swift sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. 26485 and 26485-2 both recorded by R.S. Little.
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org July 2017/2020 / April 2023
Narrator: Mary McCann
ID# SotB-WTSW-01-2020-7-6
P.A. Taverner, 1922, unpublished notes cited p. 225 in: Robert A. Cannings, Richard J. Cannings, and Sydney G. Cannings. Birds of the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum, 1987.
Bob Sundstrom
Writer