5 replies to this topic

[Eric Hopton]

Seen in Costa Rica - in Puntarenas on the Pacific coast in March - my guess is Chimney Swift. Took a few shots but anyone who has tried to photograph small fast flying birds in flight know the problems and this is about the best. It was all dark brown, slightly lighter around the throat area, with a squarish rump.
Would appreciate any input please.  2150 Chimney Swift q 2.jpg   156.14K   28 downloads

[Liam]

If it is a swift, Chestnut-collared Swift is the closest I can get.
However, my first thought was Swallow, maybe juvenile Barn.

[blackburnian]

im thinking juvie barn,but is cave an option?

[Liam]

im thinking juvie barn,but is cave an option?

Cave is listed as "Rare/Accidental" according to Wikipedia. Juvenile Cliff is a possibility, though.

[Eric Hopton]

Thanks Liam. I considered both but my thoughts on this are - March is wrong month for juv Barn Swallow, female Chestnut-collared Swift is possible but the tail was broad not forked. There were obvious Mangrove Swallows and Grey-breasted Martins in the same place but this bird was more uniformly brown in colour with slightly paler throat etc.
I often visit places for one or two days and it's hard to get the experience of local birds so I take as many pictures as I can and try to ID later. So it's great to get any help - thanks again.

[psweet]

Given the lighting on this bird, I wouldn't count on that rust color underneath, either. I do think it's clearly not a Chimney Swift -- their tail would never look this long. Apparently in Chestnut-collared Swift, there is a notched tail, but that notch just about disappears when they spread the tail like this. Unfortunately, I don't have any references for central America. I do think that on a Barn Swallow we would likely see white spots on the tail.