[2] Some authors consider it and the white-fronted swift (Cypseloides storeri) to form a superspecies.

Their back and rump are blackish brown and the wings and tail slightly darker.

It has been confirmed to nest only in Costa Rica and at one location in northern Brazil.

There are somewhat more records in Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

Its prey includes Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera.

It builds a nest of moss, liverworts, and mud on a rock wall near or behind a waterfall.

The construction and siting of nests was similar to those in Costa Rica but the incubation length and time to fledging are not known.