[3] Bates's swift is found from Liberia and Guinea then patchily eastwards to Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, south to Gabon and the northern Congo.

[4] Bates's swift is a rainforest species and is found in areas close to cliffs and crags.

[3] Bates's swift forages above the canopy of the rainforest using a fluttering flight, with short periods of gliding occasionally interrupting the rapid wing beats.

[3] Breeding has been recorded in September to March in Gabon and egg laying has been noted in Cameroon in May and June.

[4] Its common name and Latin binomial commemorate George Latimer Bates (1863–1940), an American naturalist who traveled in West Africa.