White-throated Swift

The White-throated Swift is a fast, agile aerial forager found around cliffs, canyons, and rocky mountain faces across the western United States and Mexico. It is one of the more strikingly patterned swifts, with a bold black-and-white body that stands out even at a distance as it wheels along cliff faces in tight flocks.

Flight feathers: long, narrow, and pointed, blackish with a faint gloss, built for rapid, sustained flight. Tail feathers: somewhat forked, stiff-shafted, dark with a slight sheen. Body feathers: contrasting pattern is the key mark — sooty black upperparts and crown against crisp white patches on the throat, center of the breast and belly, and flanks. The white flank patches, which extend as a stripe onto the sides of the rump, are distinctive among North American swifts and separate loose body feathers from the more uniformly dark feathers of Vaux's or Chimney Swifts.

Sexes are similar. Adults show glossy blackish upperparts and a white throat, central underparts, and flank stripe, giving a strong black-and-white contrast in flight. Juveniles are similar but slightly duller, with less crisp demarcation between dark and white areas. There is no seasonal plumage variation; feathers are replaced in a single annual molt.

White-throated Swifts nest in crevices on steep cliff faces and rocky canyon walls, ranging from the western United States and Mexico into higher elevation mountain ranges. Some populations are resident in mild climates, while others move to lower elevations or migrate south in winter, particularly northern breeders relocating toward Mexico and Central America.

This species forages high above canyons and cliffs, catching flying insects on the wing, often in mixed flocks with other swifts and swallows. It nests colonially in narrow rock crevices, building a small cup from feathers and plant material cemented with saliva. Its flight is extremely fast and direct, with rapid, shallow wingbeats interspersed with long glides. The call is a loud, descending series of shrill chattering notes given in flight near nesting cliffs.