CreatureData

White-throated swift

Aeronautes saxatalis (Woodhouse, 1853)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The white-throated swift (Aeronautes saxatalis) is a species in the family Apodidae, order Apodiformes. Recorded adults weigh 31.2 g to 32.1 g and live up to 7.85 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

White-throated swift (Aeronautes saxatalis)
Photo: Michael Woodruff from Spokane, Washington, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the white-throated swift

Weight
31.2 g – 32.1 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
32.6 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
7.85 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
10 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
rockysrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
24 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4.35src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the white-throated swift?

WHITE-THROATED SWIFT · WINGSPAN 32.6 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 32.6 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the white-throated swift is about 19% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the white-throated swift live?

Not recorded

What is the white-throated swift?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The white-throated swift (Aeronautes saxatalis) is a swift of the family Apodidae native to western North America, south to cordilleran western Honduras. Its coastal range extends as far north as Northern California, while inland it has migratory populations found throughout the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain regions, ranging as far north as southern British Columbia. White-throated swifts are found in open areas near cliffs, rock faces, or man-made structures, where they roost. Swifts are social birds, and groups are often seen roosting and foraging for flying insects together.

From the Wikipedia article “White-throated swift” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White-throated_swift&oldid=1380711928), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the white-throated swift endangered?

The white-throated swift is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the white-throated swift classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderApodiformes
  5. familyApodidae
  6. genusAeronautes
  7. SpeciesAeronautes saxatalis (Woodhouse, 1853)

Synonyms Acanthylis saxatalis, Aeronautes melanoleucus, Aeronautes saxatilis, Cypselus melanoleucus, Micropus melanoleucus

Other names and names in other languages (36)
  • سمامة بيضاء الحنجرةArabic
  • falciot golablancCatalan
  • Falciot gorjablancCatalan
  • rorýs bělohrdlýCzech
  • MesasejlerDanish
  • WeißbrustseglerGerman
  • blankagorĝa apodoEsperanto
  • Vencejo GorgiblancoSpanish
  • Vencejo gorjiblancoSpanish
  • Vencejo pecho blancoSpanish
  • pugalpiiritajaEstonian
  • kalliokiitäjäFinnish
  • Martinet à gorge blancheFrench
  • čiopa litičarkaCroatian
  • fehérmellű sarlósfecskeHungarian
  • rondone biancoItalian
  • rondone dal petto biancoItalian
  • Rondone golabiancaItalian
  • ムナジロアマツバメJapanese
  • baltagurklis šeriuotakojis čiurlysLithuanian
  • daglā svīreLatvian
  • Bonte GierzwaluwDutch
  • mesaseilerNorwegian
  • aeronauta białogardłyPolish
  • andorinhão-de-garganta-brancaPortuguese
  • Белобокий стрижRussian
  • Белобрюхий мохноногий стрижRussian
  • vzducholovec bielohrdlýSlovak
  • Belogrla američka čiopaSerbian
  • brokseglareSwedish
  • Alaca EbabilTurkish
  • Білогорлий серпокрилецьUkrainian
  • серпокрилець білогорлийUkrainian
  • Yến họng trắngVietnamese
  • 白喉雨燕Chinese
  • 白喉叉尾雨燕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the white-throated swift

Other species in the same genus Aeronautes.

CompareWhite-throated swift vs Andean swiftWhite-throated swift vs White-tipped swift

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the white-throated swift?

An adult white-throated swift weighs 31.2 g – 32.1 g and has a wingspan of 32.6 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the white-throated swift endangered?

The white-throated swift is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the white-throated swift live?

The white-throated swift has a recorded lifespan of 7.85 years.

What kind of animal is the white-throated swift?

The white-throated swift (Aeronautes saxatalis) belongs to the family Apodidae in the order Apodiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). White-throated swift (Aeronautes saxatalis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-throated-swift

MLA

“White-throated swift (Aeronautes saxatalis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-throated-swift.

BibTeX
@misc{white_throated_swift_2026,
  title = {White-throated swift (Aeronautes saxatalis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-throated-swift},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}