About Chaetura meridionalis Hellmayr, 1907
The upperparts of Chaetura meridionalis Hellmayr, 1907 are dark smoky brown. Its tail is ashy grey with dark shafts and protruding spines, the throat is grey, and lower underparts are dark brown; the bill and legs are black. This species breeds in south-eastern Brazil and adjacent regions of Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia, and is thought to move further north to spend the Austral winter in the Amazon basin, northern South America and Panama. Its exact wintering range is poorly understood, because correctly identifying the many very similar Chaetura swift species found in central and northern South America in the field is highly complex. Beyond the countries already mentioned, there are confirmed records of this species from Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname and French Guiana. It is generally common, but confirmed records outside of its breeding range (where it is the only large Chaetura swift, making it relatively easy to identify) are uncommon. Its preferred habitat includes lowland evergreen forest edge, secondary forest, open woodland and second-growth scrub, but it can be seen flying over nearly any habitat during its annual migration.
