Locally common within the tepui region and often conspicuous in flocks of 10-20+, but a regional endemic you essentially must visit the Pantepui to see. Reliable around the right cliffs/escarpments but flock occurrence is weather-dependent.
Field marks
Small-ish Streptoprocne (14-16 cm) with a long, deeply notched tail and long broad wings. Diagnostic feature is the broad orange-chestnut collar encircling the neck and including chin, throat, upper breast and most of the face (paler/duller in females). In good light the chestnut collar is unmistakable; otherwise told from White-collared Swift by smaller size and collar color.
Habitat
Aerial over tepui slopes, escarpments, cliffs, and adjacent forest and savanna; nests/roosts on cliff faces and behind waterfalls. Forages high but also low along ridgelines.
Behavior
Highly social, fast-flying aerial insectivore; feeds in flocks that sometimes mix with White-collared Swifts. Can give point-blank views as flocks course low along tepui roads and ridges, especially before rain.
Voice
High, chippering and screeing twitters given in flight, typical of Streptoprocne. Search Xeno-canto and Macaulay Library for 'Streptoprocne phelpsi' / 'Tepui Swift.'
White-collared Swift (Streptoprocne zonaris) — flies with Tepui Swift and is the key confusion species; White-collared is clearly larger with a complete WHITE collar (vs orange-chestnut) and a less deeply forked tail.
Chestnut-collared Swift (Streptoprocne rutila) — smaller, narrower chestnut collar restricted to the neck/breast, different range/elevation; note Tepui Swift's more extensive face-and-collar chestnut.
Guide note
Scan low-flying swift flocks along the Sierra de Lema escarpment in good light and pick out the orange-chestnut collar against the larger white-collared birds — point clients to the collar and the deeper tail fork; pre-storm afternoons when flocks drop to ridge height give the easiest diagnostic views.
