Chimney Swift

Chaetura pelagica

Swifts (Apodidae) · Apodiformes (Apodiformes)

eBird · Birds of the World

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Often mixed up with

In quizzes, players most often confuse Chimney Swift with these birds— either this species was picked by mistake, or the other way around.

Species	Mix-ups
Vaux's Swift Chaetura vauxi How to tell them apart	10
Common Swift Apus apus How to tell them apart	7
White-throated Needletail Hirundapus caudacutus How to tell them apart	3
Alpine Swift Tachymarptis melba How to tell them apart	2
Black Swift Cypseloides niger How to tell them apart	1

Family

The Apodidae, or swifts, form a family of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are not closely related to any passerine species. Swifts are placed in the order Apodiformes along with hummingbirds.

Order

The Apodiformes is an order, or taxonomic grouping, of birds which traditionally contained three living families—the Apodidae (swifts), the Hemiprocnidae (treeswifts), and the Trochilidae (hummingbirds); however, in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is elevated to the superorder Apodimorphae, in which hummingbirds are separated into a new order, the Trochiliformes. With nearly 450 species identified to date, it is the most diverse order of birds after the Passeriformes (the "perching" birds).

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