Archive for 'Apodidae'

Great Dusky Swift (Cypseloides senex)

Great Dusky Swift (Cypseloides senex)

The color of the swifts match that of the rocks they cling to, so unless you know what to look for you’ll most likely pass by focused as you are on the magnificent falls. A few of the swifts build nests in “accessible” places like this – accessible by sight that is. They are perhaps […]

Great Dusky Swift (Cypseloides senex)

Great Dusky Swift (Cypseloides senex)

These swifts are impervious to the force of the water as well as being able to stay dry whatever the conditions. Here they are flying in and out of their nests inside the dense and very wet vegetation that cling on to the cracks between and underneath the waterfalls. Others simply nest under the waterfalls […]

Great Dusky Swift (Cypseloides senex)

Great Dusky Swift (Cypseloides senex)

These swifts seem to be untouched by the laws of physics. They move in and out of the raging falls as if it’s air, and fly as close to the water as possible. I wonder what kind of insects they catch this close to the falls?

Great Dusky Swift (Cypseloides senex)

Great Dusky Swift (Cypseloides senex)

Black vultures are large and seen all the time around the falls – either surfing the updrafts or simply lounging on treetops or outcrops. The swifts are the second prominent species here, albeit for only a few months of the year opposed to the vultures that reside here throughout the year. The swifts come here […]