Birds
Chimney Swift
Chaetura pelagica
Spiraling down into an old chimney at dusk to roost, a chimney swift depends almost entirely on structures built by people, a once-forest-dwelling bird now declining steeply as uncapped chimneys disappear across North America.
Overview
The chimney swift, Chaetura pelagica, is a Vulnerable bird that breeds across eastern North America and migrates to winter in the Amazon basin of South America. Its near-total reliance on chimneys for nesting and roosting, almost entirely aerial lifestyle, and steep population decline make it one of the more urgently conservation-relevant birds in North America.
A bird that traded trees for chimneys
Once dependent on large hollow trees for nesting, the chimney swift shifted almost entirely to human-built chimneys as old-growth forest disappeared, a substitution that worked well for generations until modern building practices began eliminating those replacement nest sites too.
Status
Vulnerable, with a steep, ongoing population decline linked to the loss of chimney nest sites as old structures are sealed or removed, compounded by a broader decline in flying insect abundance.
Chimney Swift: common questions
Why is the chimney swift called that?
It nests and roosts almost exclusively inside chimneys today, having largely abandoned the large hollow trees it once relied on before extensive deforestation and urbanization changed its available habitat.
Why is the chimney swift declining?
As old, uncapped chimneys are sealed, removed, or renovated, the species loses key nesting and roosting sites, a trend compounded by a broader decline in the flying insects it depends on for food.
Where does the chimney swift spend the winter?
It migrates from its eastern North American breeding range to winter in the Amazon basin of South America.
Does the chimney swift ever land?
Rarely, and only to roost or nest. It spends nearly all of its life airborne, feeding, drinking, and even engaging in some social behaviour entirely on the wing.