🐦

Brown-backed Needletail

Hirundapus giganteus

Least Concern
طول الجناح
40,6 cm
الوزن
145,0 g
الفصيلة
Apodidae
الرتبة
Caprimulgiformes

حول

A very large needletail swift (22-25 cm), the largest swift in Asia. Dark brown plumage with a paler brown back. Spine-tipped tail. Found in montane forests from India to Southeast Asia. Aerial insectivore with powerful flight. Often seen soaring over mountain ridges.

Physical Description

Measurement Value Imperial
طول الجناح 40,6 cm 16.0 in
الوزن 145,0 g 5.11 oz

التعرف

الريش

Very large; dark brown upperparts with bronze gloss; no pale back saddle unlike congeners; white throat patch; white undertail coverts; short spiny tail; largest Hirundapus; brown rather than black overall tone with no contrasting white back patch.

Habitat & Range

النطاق الجغرافي

Found from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to Borneo and the Philippines. Resident in lowland and hill forest, soaring over ridges.

Diet & Feeding

Aerial insectivore feeding on tiny flies, beetles, and ballooning spiders in rapid powerful aerial pursuit.

حالة الحفاظ

Least Concern
IUCN Red List

السلوك والتكاثر

التعشيش

Nest type: SC.

عدد البيض في الوضع

3-5

الصوت

الغناء

Rough, buzzy chatter with intermittent higher squeaks; coarse twittering delivered continuously throughout aerial foraging.

التصنيف

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Aves
الرتبة Caprimulgiformes (Nightjars & Swifts)
الفصيلة Apodidae (Swifts)
Genus Hirundapus
الأنواع Hirundapus giganteus

Distribution

Brown-backed Needletail has been recorded in 1 countries.

{# Distribution Map — simplified SVG world map with highlighted countries. Expects `country_codes` variable: list of ISO alpha-2 codes (e.g. ["US", "CA", "MX"]). Uses Alpine.js to toggle classes on country paths. #}
موجود Not recorded
{# Simplified country/region shapes — major landmasses with ISO alpha-2 data attributes. These are simplified polygon representations for visual distribution display. #}

countries highlighted

External Databases

الأسئلة الشائعة

What does the Brown-backed Needletail eat?
Aerial insectivore feeding on tiny flies, beetles, and ballooning spiders in rapid powerful aerial pursuit.
Where does the Brown-backed Needletail live?
Found from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to Borneo and the Philippines. Resident in lowland and hill forest, soaring over ridges.
Is the Brown-backed Needletail endangered?
The Brown-backed Needletail has a conservation status of Least Concern.
How does the Brown-backed Needletail nest?
Nest type: SC.
What does the Brown-backed Needletail sound like?
Rough, buzzy chatter with intermittent higher squeaks; coarse twittering delivered continuously throughout aerial foraging.
How big is the Brown-backed Needletail?
The Brown-backed Needletail has a wingspan of 40.6 cm, weight of 145.0 g.
What order and family does the Brown-backed Needletail belong to?
The Brown-backed Needletail (Hirundapus giganteus) belongs to the order Caprimulgiformes and the family Apodidae.

Similar Birds

Other species in the Apodidae family

مقارنة

Explore More

Explore the Nature FYI Family