Bird

Chimney Swift

Chaetura pelagica

A summer resident that nests in North Carolina. Found in all 100 counties, across 29 habitats.

Here: Summer
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 100 counties
Habitats: 29

Adult Chimney Swift, whole bird — **Adult**. (c) Matt Felperin, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 652005101. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: Summer
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 100 counties
Habitats: 29
Habitat models: Summer

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in North Carolina 29

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 29

SummerAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; South-Central Interior Large FloodplainNamed place / source context. Shown: Congaree Swamp National Monument floodplain forest, South Carolina; representative illustration, no exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.fallen (uprooted) tree, John Dawson, by1988. Public domain. Source record.

SummerCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and FlatwoodsGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove ForestRegional / representative. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpointCove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianFrederic Edwin Church, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina (1865-70): a boulder-strewn mountain river under autumn-coloured ridges. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. North Carolina mountains (Frederic Edwin Church, oil sketch 1865-70; Cooper Hewitt)*Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70*, Frederic Edwin Church, 1865-1870. Public domain. Source record.

SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested WetlandNamed place / source context. Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretationView, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric; Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerAtlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest

Northern hardwood forests

High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.

Summer

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

SummerCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

SummerAtlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier

SummerBeside its main habitat.Southern Piedmont Cliff; Southern Appalachian Montane Cliff; Southern Appalachian Rocky SummitWilliam Frerichs, North Carolina Mountain Landscape: rocky bluffs and ledges above a river in the Carolina mountains. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. North Carolina mountains (William C. A. Frerichs)*North Carolina Mountain Landscape*, William Charles Anthony Frerichs, c. 1855-1870. Public domain. Source record.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland SystemsRegional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Southern Appalachian Granitic DomeBald Face above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, North Carolina: a bare granite dome rising above forest and a still lake (photochrom print, about 1902). Bald Face (Big Bald Face) above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, Jackson County, North CarolinaBald Face from Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, N.C., Detroit Publishing Co. (photochrom print), c. 1902. Public domain. Source record.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Developed, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Disturbed, Non-specific; Ruderal Upland - Old FieldLyell Carr, Black Mountain: a pasture and hayfield with a log barn, rail fence and grazing cow below the Black Mountains. Black Mountain, North Carolina (Lyell E. Carr)*Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain"*, Lyell Carr, c. 1890-1912. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Sandy Beach; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal Wetland

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

SummerBeside its main habitat.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland; Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerBeside its main habitat.

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Disturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Southern Interior Calcareous Cliff

Mountain balds

Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier; Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

SummerBeside its main habitat.

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems

Other habitats in its models (186)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in North Carolina. Those recorded in North Carolina first, the rest by region.

In North Carolina 1

Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer.

Elsewhere in the South (102)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Summer, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach Summer, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach Summer, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer, beside its main habitat.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer.
Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer, beside its main habitat.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer, beside its main habitat.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer.
Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
Cumberland Riverscour Summer, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Dry Chalk Bluff Summer, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer.
Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer.
Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer, beside its main habitat.
Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer, beside its main habitat.
Florida Dry Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation Summer, beside its main habitat.
Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer, beside its main habitat.
Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer, beside its main habitat.
Louisiana Beach Summer, beside its main habitat.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer.
Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer, beside its main habitat.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer.
South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer, beside its main habitat.
South Florida Cypress Dome Summer, beside its main habitat.
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer, beside its main habitat.
South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Summer, beside its main habitat.
South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Summer, beside its main habitat.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer, beside its main habitat.
South Florida Mangrove Swamp Summer, beside its main habitat.
South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer, beside its main habitat.
South Florida Pine Rockland Summer, beside its main habitat.
South Florida Shell Hash Beach Summer, beside its main habitat.
South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer.
South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Summer.
Southeast Florida Beach Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer.
Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer.
Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer.
Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Summer.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer.
Southern Interior Acid Cliff Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer.
Southwest Florida Beach Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub Summer, beside its main habitat.
Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Summer, beside its main habitat.
Texas Coastal Bend Beach Summer, beside its main habitat.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
Upper Texas Coast Beach Summer, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer.
Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Summer, beside its main habitat.

Northeast (12)

Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer.
Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Summer, beside its main habitat.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer.
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer.
North-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer.
Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer.

Midwest (12)

Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer, beside its main habitat.
Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer, beside its main habitat.
Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer, beside its main habitat.
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer, beside its main habitat.

West (1)

Southern Colorado Plateau Sand Shrubland Summer, beside its main habitat.

Land cover and other classes (58)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Summer.
Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer.
Developed, High Intensity Summer.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer.
Developed, Medium Intensity Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Summer, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Summer, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer, beside its main habitat.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer, beside its main habitat.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer, beside its main habitat.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer, beside its main habitat.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer, beside its main habitat.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer, beside its main habitat.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer.
Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer, beside its main habitat.
Quarries, Mines, Gravel Pits and Oil Wells Summer.
Recently Burned Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer, beside its main habitat.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Summer.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Summer, beside its main habitat.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer, beside its main habitat.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer, beside its main habitat.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.

All habitats

Seasons in North Carolina

Summer: nests here, in all 100 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in North Carolina, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Chimney Swift uses many habitats in North Carolina; these are its 3 most characteristic.