They were named Chaeturapelagica by the great Swedish biologist, Linnaeus, who worked in the mid-1700s when little was known about bird migration.
Chaetura comes from the Greek word, chaeta, which means spine, and that is a logical reference to the spiny tail feathers.
However, pelagica means "from the sea," which makes no sense until you recall the old European folktale that each autumn the swallows flew out to sea and dived into the water, sinking to the bottom and spending the winter hibernating in the mud.
August 17, 1919, while collecting insects near the eastern border of a broad brackish meadow, my attention was attracted to Chimney Swifts (Chactura pelagica) frequently flying slowly in from the west and disappearing in the fringe of vines and shrubs that separated me from the extreme east boundary of the marsh.
If we may assume that they [the chimney swifts] winter in a forested, rather than an arid region it is not improbable that they were bound for Amazonia, where the presence as permanent residents of five species of Chaetura shows that the region offers a favorable habitat for birds of this genus.
From at least two of the Brazilian species, pelagica could not certainly be distinguished in the air.
Georgia Wildlife Web Site; birds: Chaetura pelagica(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
This bird has a short, stubby bristle-like tail which it uses to prop its body against vertical surfaces.
The species name pelagica comes from the Greek word pelagios (marine), possibly because the birds were seen over water during their migratory flights.
Other things to look for: Many people say that the Chimney Swift looks like "a cigar with wings." It has long, narrow, pointed wings and a fat short body.
Streamlined profiles and long, swept-back wings enable them to reach quite incredible flight speeds; our familiar Chimney Swift (Chaeturapelagica) is reportedly able to handily exceed 100 mph in level flight.
Outside of the breeding season, flocks of up to 200 of these swifts have been recorded gathering to roost in a single cliff face crevice.
While one has to travel to the Western States to see the previous two species, the Chimney Swift is common across much of the United States, the similar Vaux’s Swift (Chaetura vauxi) replacing it in the Pacific Northwest.
