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White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus) Alternate name(s): "Spine-tailed Swift", "Needle-tailed Swift" Size: 19-21 cm; wing span 50-54 cm Body mass: 80-140 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description White-throated Needletails are the largest and most massive of the swifts in Australia. Their underside (front) is glossy near-black dark-grey, with a prominent white throat. The tail is broad, with an almost square-shaped tip. The underwings show near-black coverts and dark-grey flight feathers. The flight feathers are a bit lighter than the coverts. In flight they have the appearance of a thick sickle. The top side (back) is mostly glossy near-black dark-grey, with a prominent white rump. They received their name after spiky, needle-like feathers on the tail. The bill is very short and the irises are black. The legs and feet are completely invisible in flight. Juveniles have a vermiculated white-and-grey bib. Twitcher's tip Compared with Pacific Swifts, they have a much more bulky appearance. The wing beat is massive and sometimes audible.

Taxonomy, classification See White-throated Needletail at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the White-throated Needletail is available HERE . White-throated Needletails breed in the northern hemisphere, where they are found in eastern Asia, in eastern Siberia, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and southward throughout central and eastern China and all of South-east Asia. They migrate southwards via the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and New Guinea to spend the northern winters in Australia. White-throated Needletails, race "caudacutus", are non-breeding migrants to Australia from North Asia. They usually come across the Torres Strait, populating the East coast of the continent plus Bass Strait and Tasmania. They can be found in a stretch about half the east-west width of QLD and NSW and all of VIC. In some years they can venture further inland, into the Top End of the NT and out into the Coral Sea. In such years they can also reach south-eastern SA, up to about Eyre peninsula. White-throated Needletails are mostly observed above forest and woodland, often in hilly and mountainous terrain, but they are occasionally - usually right after rain - also found above more open country. Where to look? How to find this species? If one finds a flock of sickle-winged birds circling in the air or hawking for insects (that are much too fast to be any kind of swallow or martin), they may be White-throated Needletails. Note, however, that a detailed look is necessary to visually identify the species (which rarely calls). In particular, one must make sure that they are not (the less common of the two species) Pacific Swifts.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "caudacutus" The first White-throated Needletails, race "caudacutus", spotted by us were a chance detection when scanning the sky for other high-flying birds above Narrabri Lake in December 2008. Sightings of White-throated Needletails, race "caudacutus", in inland NSW are infrequent and irregular, but not a rarity during the summer/autumn months. Flocks of typically up to about 50 birds (sometimes more) have been observed by us in various locations of the North-West Slopes and Plains, such as e.g. Deriah Aboriginal Area, about 30 km East of Narrabri, and Eulah Creek, 20 km East of Narrabri. At least 3, possibly 4, flocks were spotted by us on one day in early December 2013 above various parts of the Pilliga scrub. In general, White-throated Needletails are seen by us semi-regularly above forest and woodland from about October to March. A flock of almost 100 White-throated Needletails, race "caudacutus", was observed at Eulah Creek in January 2016, hawking for insects in rainy conditions. They were observed in the same location several days in a row. We usually find White-throated Needletails, race "caudacutus", in open country only in unsettled weather conditions. When the weather is stable (dry and hot in summer), they stay in the airspace above forest and woodland. They typically appear in open country the day after a local rain event (in the summer months often in the form of afternoon/evening showers). B. Hensen reports spotting White-throated Needletails, race "caudacutus", at Moruya, NSW, in January 2017. More more sightings have been reported since then, in particular from St. Albans, NSW. M. Eaton first spotted White-throated Needletails, race "caudacutus", at Anstead, QLD, in January 2018.

Photos

Race "caudacutus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a White-throated Needletail in flight
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2018]

Frontal/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail showing the bulky build that distinguishes this species from the similar, but more slender, Pacific Swift
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2018]

Near-frontal view of a White-throated Needletail in flight
[Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2024]

Near-frontal view of a White-throated Needletail banking in flight
[Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2024]

Close-up lateral view of a White-throated Needletail; note the name-giving white throat and needle-like tail feathers
[Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2024]

Lateral view of a White-throated Needletail, wings up
[Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2024]

Lateral view of a White-throated Needletail, showing clearly how bulky they are
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2021]

Lateral/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail banking in flight
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2017]

Lateral/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail; note how the legs and feet are completely hidden by plumage
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2021]

Lateral/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail with its wings shaped like a sickle
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2017]

Lateral/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail banking sharply, changing completely the bird's appearance compared to the usual sickle-shaped wings
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2017]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail in flight, showing clearly the name-giving spiny tail feathers
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Moruya, NSW, January 2017]

Dorsal/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2021]

Direct ventral comparison of a White-throated Needletail (below), with a Pacific Swift
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail with a vermiculated bib, possibly a juvenile bird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2021]

Lateral/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail with light-grey, vermiculated plumage, possibly a juvenile bird
[Pilliga scrub, NSW, December 2011]

Lateral view of different phases of the wing beat of a juvenile(?) White-throated Needletail
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2016]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Flock

White-throated Needletails are usually observed hunting in flocks, often of about 50-100 birds, above forest or woodland. Only in rainy weather, in particularly near approaching storms, they are found hawking for insects above more open country, e.g. in open farmland with scattered trees. This may indicate that their prey, insects, also move from wooded areas into more open space in these weather conditions.

Wide-angle overview of a flock of White-throated Needletails hunting above open farmland in rainy weather
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2016]

The way White-throated Needletails often hunt is that part of the flock remains at relatively high altitude, say 100 m, from where they dive down on their prey, which they take at heights of 10-50 m, in rainy conditions also down to near ground level. When not hunting, they have been observed by us circling in thermals.

Ventral view of part of a flock of White-throated Needletails circling above open farmland (for a change in fine weather)
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2021]

There are no confirmed accounts of a White-throated Needletail ever having set foot on Australian soil. Being on the wing at least most of the time, if not always when not nesting, White-throated Needletails can do things such as preening in flight.

Lateral view of a White-throated Needletail preening on the wing
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2023]

Ventral view of a White-throated Needletail in wing moult
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2019]

Food, Diet

Like other swifts, White-throated Needletails are insect hunters. They catch and devour their prey in-flight.

Lateral view of a White-throated Needletail that was observed going down to a lake, probably to drink water
[Yarrie Lake, NSW, January 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

wtneedl_20140215.mp3

caudacutus (NW NSW)

Contact call(?)

© MD

Being the bird species with the fastest wing-flapping flight , White-throated Needletails create enormous thrust with their wings, which makes the wing beats audible. Below an example of a bird passing over at about 15-20 m above ground.

wtneedl_20140214.mp3

caudacutus (NW NSW)

Horizontal flight

© MD

More White-throated Needletail sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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