The white-tipped swift (Aeronautes montivagus) is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, and possibly Guyana. Taxonomy and systematics The white-tipped swift was at one time placed in genus Micropus which was later merged into Aeronautes. It has two subspecies, the nominate A. m. montivagus and A. m. tatei. Description The white-tipped swift is long and weighs . It has slim pointed wings and a long slightly notched tail. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are blackish brown on the crown and around the eye; most of the rest of the face is gray brown. Their upperparts are the same blackish brown as the crown. Their tail is black-brown with wide white tips to the feathers. Their wings are blackish brown with white edges on some feathers. Their throat, sides of the neck, and the upper breast are white. The rest of their underparts are a slightly lighter blackish brown than the upperparts, with white patches around the legs. Adult females are browner than males with sometimes a paler lower back and rump. The white of the throat is duller and the white tips of the tail reduced or absent. Juveniles are similar to adults with the addition of pale fringes to body feathers. Subspecies A. m. tatei is similar to the nominate, but their upperparts are a very glossy blue black. Distribution and habitat The nominate subspecies of white-tipped swift is found in the Venezuelan Coastal Range and separately in the Andes from extreme western Venezuela south through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia into northern Argentina. A. m. tatei is found in the tepui region along the border between southern Venezuela and northwestern Brazil. Sight records in Guyana and documented records in Suriname and French Guiana are probably of this subspecies. The species is mostly seen over montane evergreen forest but also occurs in drier intermontane valleys in Ecuador and northern Peru. Its elevational limits vary geographically. It occurs between about in the tepui region, in coastal and Andean Venezuela, in Ecuador from but mostly between , usually between in Peru, and usually between in Bolivia. Behavior Movement The white-tipped swift is generally considered to be resident throughout its range, but it "can disappear from some sites for months at a time". Feeding Like all swifts, the white-tipped is an