Season et at. • BLACK SWIFT MIGRATION AND WINTERING AREAS 
7 
Colorado calibration location. Therefore, the 
southern portion of the mapped winter range is 
most likely the area where the swifts spent the 
winter. The technical limitations of geolocalors 
and lack of knowledge of Black Swift behavior in 
wintering areas, such as daily foraging (light 
distance, and roosting locations and tinting further 
confound data interpretation. 
The Black Swift is protected under the 
Migratory Bird Treaty Act in the United States 
and the Convention for the Protection of Migra¬ 
tory Birds and Game Mammals in Mexico. This 
study documents Northern Black Swifts spending 
-'220 days in Brazil during winter 2009-2010. the 
first records of the species in this country. This 
study identifies an annual non-breeding geogra¬ 
phic area of the Northern Black Swift and is a 
significant step toward conservation of this 
species. 
Future studies could include use of geolocators 
on subsets of Northern Black Swifts from other 
areas of North America which would help 
delineate the strength of migration connectivity 
for this subspecies. Development of satellite 
transmitters small enough for use on Black Swifts 
will provide greater accuracy than geolocalors and 
can possibly answer questions about roosting and 
foraging behavior. 
CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS 
Knowledge of migratory pathways and winter 
distribution of a species enables evaluation of 
those geographical areas, including ecologic 
analysis and research, identification of potential 
habitat threats, and development of conservation 
strategies. The homogeneity of the wintering areas 
for Northern Black Swifts evidenced in this study 
suggests limited winter resource use by this 
subspecies, which could have long-term conser¬ 
vation impacts. The current rate of deforestation 
in Brazil could directly threaten this subspecies. 
One of the most refined computer models for 
simulating deforestation. SimAmazonia I. indi¬ 
cates the rale of deforestation in the State of 
Amazonas will increase rapidly in the coming 
decades which could result in a loss of up to 30% 
of the forest cover by 2050 (Soares-Filho et al. 
-006). Climate change and global warming 
predictions also pose threats to habitat and prey 
availability for this subspecies. Roberson and 
Collins (2008) identified declines in some North¬ 
ern Black Swift populations but it is unknown if 
declines are due to environmental problems in 
breeding areas, during migration, in wintering 
areas, or some combination of these possibilities. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
The authors thank Black Canyon Audubon Society, 
Evergreen Audubon Society. Grand Valley Audubon 
Society. Roaring Fork Audubon Society. Colorado Field 
Ornithologists, and the Colorado Chapter of The Wildlife 
Society for contributions to this project. D. M. Elwonger, 
II. E. Kingery. L. R Patrick, A. R. Robinsong. and W. P. 
Schmoker contributed funds to the Riehaal G. Levad 
Memorial Fund held in trust at the Rocky Mountain Bird 
Observatory to be used specifically for this project. The 
Grand River Hospital perioperative staff contributed funds 
to the M. A. Potter Memorial Fund to be used specifically 
for this project. Significant assistance with interpretation 
of geolocator data was received from N. B. F. Cousens and 
D. M. Morrison. A. O. Panjabi and L. L. Jenks provided 
thoughtful reviews of the manuscript. N. M. Goedert. T. W. 
Patrick, and C. W. Reichert contributed invaluable support 
during Black Swift banding expeditions to Fulton Resur¬ 
gence Cave. We thank die White River National Forest for 
project support and logistics. K. It. Knudsen for access to 
research library resources, and S. E. Hirshnian for 
coordinating access to Box Canyon Falls. Knowledgeable 
suggestions by peer reviewers C. T. Collins and A. M. 
Fudickar were invaluable. This publication is dedicated to 
the memory and spiritual guidance of our friend and 
colleague Richard G. Levad. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Backman. .1. AND T. AlERSTAM. 2001. Confronting the 
winds: orientation and flight behavior of roosting 
Swifts, A pus a pus. Proceedings of the Royal Society of 
London, Series B 268:1081-1087. 
Bontkmps, S.. P. Dp.fourny. and F. Van Boc.aert. 2010. 
GLOBCOVFR 2009. Version GLOBCOVER2(X)9_ 
PDM_1.0. European Space Agency and University 
Catholique de Louvain. Belgium. www.esa.int/esaCP/ 
SFM5N3TRJ HGJndcx_ 1 .html 
Brasil Travel Guide. 2011. Climate, temperatures and 
rain in Brazil. Brasil Travel Guide, Rio de Janeiro. 
www.brazil-travel-guide.eom/Brazil-Map-Weather. 
html# Amazon 
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics 
(IBGE). 2011 Portal. Brazil, www.ibgc.gov.br/english/ 
Buchanan. O. M. and H. L. Fierstine. I%4. Another 
Pacific record of the Black Swill off Mexico. Condor 
64:161-162. 
Buehler. D. a.. J. D. Fraser. M. R. Fuller, L. S. 
McAllister, and J. K. D. Seegar. 1995. Captive and 
field-tested radio transmitter attachment for Bald 
Eagles. Journal of Field Ornithology 66:173-180. 
Caccamise. D. F. AND R. s. Hed/n. 1985. An aerodynamic 
basis tor selecting transmitter loads in birds Wilson 
Bulletin 97:306-318. 
Collins, C. T. and K. S. FoERsrm. 1995. Nest site fidelity 
and adult longevity in the Black Swift (Cypseloides 
niger). North American Bird Bander 20:11-14 
