White-throated swift

White-throated swift
Spokane County, Washington
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Apodidae
Genus:	Aeronautes
Species:	A. saxatalis
Binomial name
Aeronautes saxatalis (Woodhouse, 1853)
Subspecies
Aeronautes saxatalis nigrior Aeronatues saxatalis saxatalis

The white-throated swift (Aeronautes saxatalis) is a swift of the family Apodidae native to western North America, south to cordilleran western Honduras. It is migratory, and travels to the southern part of its range in winter, as far north along the Pacific coast as the Californian Central Valley; inland its range extends throughout the Great Basin region to extreme southern British Columbia.

Reaching a length of 16.5 cm (6.5 in), with a wingspan of 35.5 cm (14.0 in), the white-throated swift is distinguished from other North American swifts by the whitish throat patch, which extends down to the belly. The upperparts, belly, and sides of the breast are black, and the underwings are gray.

Like all swifts, white-throated swifts use their short legs only for clinging onto vertical surfaces or wires, and never land on the ground voluntarily.

External links

• "Aeronautes saxatalis". Avibase.
• White-throated swift - Aeronautes saxatalis - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
• White-throated swift Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• "Aeronautes saxatalis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 8 February 2006.
• White-throated swift at Bird of North America Online
• "White-throated swift media". Internet Bird Collection.
• White-throated swift photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
• Interactive range map of Aeronautes saxatalis at IUCN Red List maps