Chordeiles minor

Chordeiles minor and C. gundlachii are treated as conspecific by some authors (AOU 1983; see Stevenson et al. 1983 for differences) and constitute a superspecies (AOU 1998). See Dickerman (1990) for information on plumage variation of juveniles in North America (some discussion of subspecies).

Large breeding range mainly in North America; presumed large population size; many subpopulations; BBS data suggest long-term slow decline, possibly resulting from habitat loss, pesticide use, or increased predation on nests.

Nesting range extends from southern Yukon, southern Mackenzie, northern Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba, northern Ontario, central Quebec, southern Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia south virtually throughout North America to California, south-central Nevada, Arizona, southern Texas, Gulf Coast, and southern Florida in the United States; also Middle America from Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico, south through central Guatemala to western Honduras, and along Atlantic slope locally from Tamaulipas through southern Veracruz, and in Belize, eastern Honduras, northern Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, and possibly in southeastern Colombia in South America (Poulin et al. 1996).

During the northern winter the range includes South America south to northern Argentina (Poulin et al. 1996).

In migration this species occurs throughout Middle America and the West Indies.

This species is represented by a large number of occurrences (subpopulations) with Partners in Flight (2013) estimating a global population of 16 million individuals.

Cause of the apparent decline is unknown but presumably is related to loss of breeding habitat, indiscriminate use of pesticides, and increased predation on nests (by cats, dogs, and increased populations of native predators that benefit from anthropogenic food resources) (Ehrlich et al. 1992, Poulin et al. 1996)