[ORyoungbirder] [birding] possible Corvallis BLACK SWIFT

[Karl Fairchild]

I too, stepped outside after reading Tom's post of a Black Swift to 
midvalleybirds.  I was studying in Strand Hall on campus and stepped out 
to the west entrance by the MU brick mall immediately when I read Tom's 
post.  After spending about 15-20 minutes looking, while yakking on the 
phone about 7:40, I saw a bird about 25-50 ft overhead flying first 
northwest over the quad and then quickly turning toward me and flying 
over Strand Hall toward the library.  Total viewing time was about 5 
seconds.  What struck me about it was its size: it was distinctly bigger 
than a swallow and my very first instinct was something like a robin, 
but it flew rather swift-like.  It disappeared behind a tree between 
flying northwest and then flying east, giving me a chance to say 
something to the effect of "hey, what the...!!!" in between sightings.  
The one thing that didn't work probably was an artifact of the funky 
light conditions at the time--it looked distinctly white-chinned.  But 
then, I watched a VG swallow a few minutes later take the same flight 
path at first and it too appeared dark underneath with a white chin.  
Once it turned I was able to see the swallow's clean white belly.  I did 
not see the swift fly into the same patch of light, but I saw it from 
other angles as well that made it appear all dark or nearly all dark 
with pale toward the forehead.  I noticed the sickle-shaped wings but 
also fairly broad tail.  I can eliminate Vaux's Swift based on the size, 
tail shape, direct flight, gliding behavior, and total lack of color 
despite the crummy light conditions.  I not quite as convinced about it 
not being a swallow, but the size seems to be the biggest indicator.  In 
looking at size comparisons between VG Swallow and Black Swift soon 
after, Black Swift is nearly 50 percent larger, which was my initial 
impression.  The bird was dipping in and out between trees however, and 
I may not have been able to stay on the same individual the entire 
time.  I think Black Swift is a distinct possibility, but the conditions 
of observation make an excellent argument for a bad case of stint fever 
as well.

Any thoughts on this bird?

Time to get back to studying,
Good Birding,
Karl

Karl Fairchild
Corvallis, OR