Alternative name: Brown Spinetailed Swift or Brown Needletail
- Hirundapus giganteus
Identification
A very large (25cm) Swift
- All dark with dark brown throat
- Broad wings, pinched in at body
- Broad head and bulky hindbody
- Short tail with spines protruding up to 11mm in central tail
- Distinct white horseshoe mark on undertail coverts and rear flanks
Distribution
Found in South-east Asia. In India in the Western Ghats and on Sri Lanka. Also from Bangladesh (where rare) and Assam to Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Palawan (Philippines).
Quite common where good habitat is available. Not globally threatened.
Taxonomy
Forms a superspecies with Purple Needletail and was also considered to be conspecific with it. Sometimes placed in genus Chaetura.
Subspecies[1]
Two subspecies recognized:
- H.g. giganteus from the Malay Peninsula to Indonesia and the Philippines
- H.g. indicus in India, Sri Lanka and from Bangladesh to Indochina
Differences between birds of India and the Andamans suggest a third subspecies. More study needed.
Habitat
Usually above primary forest. Also above secondary forest when rivers and lakes are present. Over lowlands and hills up to 1800m.
Behaviour
Gregarious, usually seen in big flocks, sometimes together with other Needletails. Roosting at night in groups in small tree holes.
In India a resident species with some local movements. Birds from northern Indochina may be short-distance migrants to the Malay Peninsula and maybe further to Borneo. The southern birds (subspecies giganteus) are resident.
Diet
Feeds on various insects which are taken in flight over forests, rivers or lakes.
Breeding
Nesting recorded from February to April in India. Solitary nester in a tree hollow, no nest built. Lays 3 to 4 eggs.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Brown-backed Needletail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown-backed_Needletail
