White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus)
About the White-throated Needletail
The white-throated needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus), also known as the needle-tailed swift or spine-tailed swift, is a large swift in the genus Hirundapus. It is reputed to reach speeds of up to 170 km/h (110 mph) in horizontal flight, but this is unverified because the methods used to measure its speed have not been published. 75 km/h (47 mph) is more likely, but this is still at least 100 times the bird's length per second. They build their nests in rock crevices in cliffs or hollow trees. They do not like to sit on the ground and spend most of their time in the air. They feed on small, flying insects like beetles, flies, bees and moths.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 9 recordings for this species: 2 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Australia, India, Japan, Russia in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Other birds you can hear here
- Black KiteMilvus migransrecording
- Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopusrecording
- Common GreenshankTringa nebulariarecording
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucosrecording
- Alpine AccentorPrunella collarisrecording
- Baillon's CrakeZapornia pusillarecording
These are the birds recorded alongside it, not close relatives — the site holds no other member of its genus or family yet.