Fork-tailed palm swift

The fork-tailed palm swift or Neotropical palm swift (Tachornis squamata) is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found across most of northern South America and on Trinidad and Tobago.

The fork-tailed palm swift is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs 9 to 13.6 g (0.32 to 0.48 oz). It has long narrow wings and a long deeply forked tail. The sexes are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies T. s. squamata have blackish brown upperparts with a slight greenish gloss and pale gray edges on the feathers; the rump is slightly paler. Their cheeks are grayish brown and the throat very pale brownish white with dusky mottling. The rest of their underparts are pale with light brown mottling that is sparsest in the center of the belly. Their undertail coverts are blackish brown with pale edges. Juveniles are similar to adults but have a buff tinge to the head and buffy edges to their upperparts' feathers.

Subspecies T. s. semota is darker overall than the nominate. It has blacker upperparts with less gray on the feathers' edges. Its underparts feathers are darker with very little pale edging and the undertail coverts are shining greenish black.