# Black Swift

Scientific name: Cypseloides niger

Bird group: [swift](https://birdsofpuertorico.com/family/swift)

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/88/Black-Swift

## Identification

The American black swift, or more simply black swift (Cypseloides niger), is a species of bird that is found from northern British Columbia in Canada through the United States and Mexico to Costa Rica and Brazil. They are also found in the Caribbean.


## Distribution and habitat

The Black Swift occurs in Western North America, Central 
America, Guyana, Columbia, 
and throughout the West Indies 
(Raffaele and others 1998). It 
is a summer resident migrant 
species in Puerto Rico and is 
very rare in winter (Kepler 1971, 
Raffaele 1989a). The Black Swift 
is more common in mountainous 
areas (e.g., El Yunque National 
Forest and Maricao) than in 
the lowlands and coastal areas 
(Raffaele and others 1998), but it 
has been seen over the coast in 
the Guánica dry forest (Kepler 
1971). The atlas fieldwork 
yielded a total of 26 records 
within 20 hexagons or 4 percent of the 479 total hexagons (see 
map). Of the 20 hexagons where 
this species was found, breeding 
met the atlas definition of 
confirmed in 5 percent (1) of the 
hexagons, probable in 10 percent 
(2), and possible in 55 percent 
(11), while the species was 
observed in 30 percent (6) of the 
hexagons but without evidence 
of breeding (see map). 

## Breeding

The Black Swift nesting sites are associated with crevices in cliffs, 
often near or under a waterfall. 
Previously published reports 
indicate that breeding takes 
place from March to September 
(Raffaele and others 1998). Atlas Black Swift distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones in 
Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.      79Black Swift/Vencejo Negroresults indicate that the breeding season for this species extends 
mostly during the first period 
of the year (March–July) and 
peaks in June (see chart). In 
general, this species breeds in 
the subtropical wet forest, but 
during the peak of the breeding 
season it uses other life zones, a 
pattern observed in many other 
species. Results show that this 
species breeds mostly within the 
subtropical wet and subtropical 
moist forest life zones (50 and 36 percent of the hexagons, 
respectively). Breeding for 
this species was also reported for one hexagon (7 percent 
of the hexagons) in both the 
subtropical dry forest life zone 
and subtropical rain forest life 
zone (see table and map).

## Conservation

Although the Black Swift population is slowly decreasing 
due to habitat degradation, among other causes, it is listed 
as a species of least concern by 
the IUCN (BirdLife International 
2018). Locally, this species is 
listed as vulnerable (PRDNER 
2016). In Puerto Rico, the Black 
Swift has a protected habitat in 
land of 40 percent or 134 km2 of the total area covered by 
the hexagons where evidence 
of breeding was found for this 
species (335 km2).

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_088_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_088_Im1.png.webp

Source note: Text is reproduced from this site's published record. Historical conservation statements and taxonomy have not been independently revalidated. See https://birdsofpuertorico.com/about for source credits and limitations.