Sick's Swift
Chaetura meridionalis

Sick's swift is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It was previously considered conspecific with the smaller ashy-tailed swift, but a study published in 1997 found that Sick's swift was closer to the chimney swift. The English name commemorates the German-born ornithologist Helmut Sick who studied South American birds. It is a migratory species that breeds in central South America and overwinters in northern South America. The IUCN has listed it as being of "Least Concern". Source
Where it is now
In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 13,615 times across 6 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).
See the Sick's Swift on the live map
Arrival dates
The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.
| Region | First arrival | Last arrival | Typical peak | Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South America | 17 August 2026 | 31 August 2026 | 12 October 2026 | 3 |
Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.