Chimney swift

Chaetura pelagica

The Chimney swift (Chaetura pelagica) is a bird found in United States and Canada. Towns and skies across eastern North America; winters in the Amazon. It eats insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Vulnerable.

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Scientific name	Chaetura pelagica
Region	North America
Found in	United States and Canada

🏡 Where the Chimney swift lives

Towns and skies across eastern North America; winters in the Amazon.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs100%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

VulnerableGetting rare. It needs our help.

💡 It nests inside chimneys and spends most of its day in the air.

Hear the Chimney swift

Recorded by Russ Wigh (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC560823. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Chimney swift

Where does the Chimney swift live?

The Chimney swift lives in United States and Canada. Towns and skies across eastern North America; winters in the Amazon.

What does the Chimney swift eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 100%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Chimney swift endangered?

Getting rare. It needs our help. Its IUCN Red List category is Vulnerable.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.