White-collared Swift

The White-collared Swift is a powerful, high-flying species found year-round throughout Ecuador, from lowland forests to high Andean slopes, often above 3,000 meters. It is locally common and typically seen in large, fast-moving flocks that wheel across open skies, especially near cliffs, ridgelines, and montane valleys, where it feeds on aerial insects. Globally listed as Least Concern, its population is vast and widespread across the Neotropics, though suspected to be slowly declining due to habitat changes. Nesting occurs in crevices on vertical rock faces or cave walls, and its dramatic flight and synchronized group behavior make it one of the most striking aerial specialists in Ecuador’s avifauna.