Adults have sooty blackish upperparts with a faint green gloss on the crown and back and bluish wings and tail.

[6] The white-chested swift is known from widely scattered locations from Colombia's Cauca River valley south along the east slope of the Andes in Ecuador and into Peru as far south as Cuzco Department, and also east into Bolivia.

[6] Because breeding by white-chested swifts has not been documented at any site, it is not known if the species is resident or migratory at any of them.

"[6] The IUCN has assessed the white-chested swift as being of Least Concern, though it has a small known range and an unknown population size that is believed to be decreasing.

[1] "The conservation status of White-chested Swift is difficult to assess adequately, however, until the breeding range of this species is ascertained.