BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Aeronautes saxatalis
White-throated Swift
| Scientific Name: | Aeronautes saxatalis (Woodhouse, 1853) | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | White-throated Swift | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | B-WTSW | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Apr 2016) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S3S4B (Mar 2022) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Blue | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2005) | ||||||||||
| Migratory Bird Convention Act: | Y | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | Copulation occurs in the air. Clutch size 3-6 (usually 4-5). | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
Y / Y / Y / na / |
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| Global Migration Comments: | Breeding populations north of central California and central Arizona arrive in nesting areas March-May, move south for winter. | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Lakes / Lake / Unknown
Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Cliff / Unknown Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Unknown Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Talus / Unknown Stream/River / Stream/River / Unknown |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | Primarily mountainous country, especially near cliffs and canyons where breeding occurs; forages over forest and open situations in a variety of habitats (Subtropical and Temperate zones) (AOU 1983). Nests in rock crevices in cliffs and canyons. Sometimes nests in buildings, and on seacliffs. | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Invertivore: Adult, Immature
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Insectivorous. Catches flying insects (flies, beetles, bees, winged ants, bugs, etc.). | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: |
Diurnal: Adult, Immature
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| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | 17/ / 32 | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | BREEDING: southern British Columbia, southern Alberta, to Montana, northwestern South Dakota, northwestern Nebraska, southeastern Wyoming, eastern Colorado, New Mexico, western Texas, west to southern California, central Arizona, south through Mexico to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. NON-BREEDING: central California, central Arizona (rarely southern New Mexico) south to limits of breeding range (AOU 1983). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Hammerson, G. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Mar 03, 1994 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp. |
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Bureau of Land Management. Life History Summaries. |
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Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, et al. 1990b. The Birds of British Columbia Vol. 2: Nonpasserines: Diurnal Birds of Prey through Woodpeckers. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC. |
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Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio. |
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Richardson, H. 2000. Threats Posed by Rock-Climbers to Birds Nesting on Cliffs in the South Okanagan. Pp. 429-433 in L.M. Darling, ed. 2000. Proc. Conf. on the Biology and Manage. Species and Habitats at Risk, Kamloops, B.C., 15-19 Feb., 1999. Vol. 1; B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Victoria, BC, and Univ. College of the Cariboo, Kamloops, BC. 490pp. |
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Summers, K. 1995. Status of the White-throated Swift in British Columbia. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. Working rep. WR-68. 24pp. |
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Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1994. Species Summary: Aeronautes saxatalis. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Oct 3, 2026).