Birdfinding.info ⇒ Regarded as fairly common on each of its native islands, except Martinique. On Guadeloupe it is mostly limited to Basse-Terre, where it is often seen around Cascade aux Ecrevisses. On Dominica the Syndicate Trail is a reliable site. On Martinique it is sometimes found around Fonds-St.-Denis. On St. Lucia it can often be found in Edmonds and Quilesse Forest Reserves. On St. Vincent the Vermont Nature Trail is a likely spot for it.
Lesser Antillean Swift
Chaetura martinica
Endemic to the Lesser Antilles from Guadeloupe to St. Vincent. Occurs mainly over montane forests, but sometimes also feeds over lower and more open areas. Wanderers have been reported from Nevis and Bequia.
Identification
A small, dark swift with a partly paler throat and rump. The darkest Chaetura.
The other swifts that occur regularly in its limited range are either distinctly larger with a longer, notched tail (American Black Swift) or slightly smaller with more contrasty plumage and a shorter tail (Short-tailed Swift).
Lesser Antillean Swift, showing partly paler throat. (Trace des Jésuites, Martinique; August 26, 2014.) © Frantz Delcroix
Lesser Antillean Swift. (Morne Diablotin National Park, Dominica; June 29, 2007.) © Jay Gilliam
Lesser Antillean Swift with wings and tail fully fanned. (Syndicate Parrot Preserve, Dominica; March 12, 2014.) © Thomas Holmberg
Lesser Antillean Swift with wings extended and tail folded. (Syndicate Parrot Preserve, Dominica; March 12, 2014.) © Thomas Holmberg
Lesser Antillean Swift. (Syndicate Road, Dominica; December 23, 2016.) © Steve Semanchuk
Lesser Antillean Swift. (Morne Diablotin National Park, Dominica; June 29, 2007.) © Jay Gilliam
Lesser Antillean Swift. (Hibiscus Valley Inn, St. Andrew, Dominica; October 13, 2018.) © Peter Kaestner
Lesser Antillean Swift. (Dominica; November 8, 2011.) © Don Faulkner
Voice. Soft, rapid twittering:
Notes
Monotypic species.
References
BirdLife International. 2016. Chaetura martinica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22686698A93122735. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22686698A93122735.en. (Accessed September 11, 2020.)
Chantler, P. 2000. Swifts: A Guide to the Swifts and Treeswifts of the World (Second Edition). Yale University Press.
eBird. 2020. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed September 11, 2020.)
Kirwan, G.M., A. Levesque, M. Oberle, and C.J. Sharpe. 2019. Birds of the West Indies. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Xeno-Canto. 2020. Lesser Antillean Swift – Chaetura martinica. https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Chaetura-martinica. (Accessed September 11, 2020.)