Alternative names: Papuan Spinetailed Swift; New Guinea Spinetail; New Guinea Needletail; Papuan Needletail; New Guinea Spine-tailed Swift
- Mearnsia novaeguineae
Chaetura novaeguineae
Identification
With 11.5cm a small Needletail of New Guinea.
- Head and upperparts glossy blue-black
- White or whitish belly and undertail coverts
- Dark underwing with pale central stripe
The small spines at the end of the tail are not visible in flight.
Distribution
Endemic to New Guinea where found in the lowlands.
Quite common in some parts of its range.
Taxonomy
Formerly placed in genus Chaetura or in monospecific genus Papuanapus.
Subspecies
Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:
- M.n. novaeguineae in S and SE New Guinea
- M.n. buergersi in N New Guinea
Habitat
Mainly recorded over forest, sometimes also over forest edges, gardens and cleared areas with standing dead trees.
Not found higher than 550 m asl.
Behaviour
Diet
It eats flying insects, usually foraging in pairs or small flocks. Often seen together with Swiftlets. Most active at dawn and dusk.
Breeding
Nests in a high tree hollow.
Movements
A resident species, some local wandering may occur.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2014)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Papuan Spinetail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Papuan_Spinetail
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
