Needle-tailed swift, Spine-tailed swift
The White-throated needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus) is a large swift. Needle-tailed swifts get their name from the spined end of their tail, which is not forked as it is in the typical swifts of the genus Apus. The White-throated needletail was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801. Its specific name caudacutus comes from the Latin and can be translated as "pointed tail".
White-throated needletails are large swifts with a robust, barrel-like body. They are greyish-brown except for a white throat and a white patch, extending from the base of the tail to the flanks.
White-throated needletails breed in Central Asia and southern Siberia and migrate to winter south in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. They are rare vagrants in Western Europe and have been recorded as far west as Norway, Sweden, and Great Britain. White-throated needletails spend all their time in the air. They forage over forests and grasslands in both mountainous and lowland areas.
White-throated needletails are social birds and often form flocks. They can rarely be seen on the ground spending all their time flying high above. They land only for roosting and breeding. White-throated needletails are very fast fliers and it is thought they can reach up to 170 km/h (105 mph) in horizontal flight. They hunt at different heights catching insects on the wing. They also drink in flight by skimming the water's surface. White-throated needletails communicate with each other using loud, sharp calls, chirps, a piping sound, and a churring twitter.
White-throated needletails are carnivores (insectivores). They eat small, flying insects like beetles, flies, bees and moths.
White-tailed needletails are thought to be monogamous breeders. They build their nests in rock crevices in cliffs or hollow trees. The female lays 2-7 eggs, and both parents incubate them for about 40 days. The chicks are altricial; they hatch blind and naked. They are fed and cared by both parents. They usually fledge between 40 and 42 days after hatching.
White-tailed needletails are not considered threatened at present. However, these birds suffer from the destruction of forests and woodlands, thus losing suitable sites for nesting. They also suffer from the use of pesticides which reduce the numbers of insect prey.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the White-throated needletails is unknown. The national population is estimated to contain about 100-10,000 breeding pairs and around 50-1,000 individuals on migration in China; less than 1,000 individuals on migration in Taiwan; around 100-10,000 breeding pairs and around 50-1,000 individuals on migration in Korea; around 100-10,000 breeding pairs and around 50-1,000 individuals on migration in Japan and possibly around 100-100,000 breeding pairs and 50-10,000 individuals on migration in Russia. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
