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14

White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus) Alternate name(s): "Spine-tailed Swift", "Needle-tailed Swift" Size: 19-21 cm; wing span 50-54 cm Weight: 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 (Fork-tailed) 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 forested areas, often in hilly and mountainous terrain, but they are occasionally also found above more open country.

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 in the Pilliga scrub during the spring/summer months. In the 2014/15 season none were seen until March/April 2015, when apparently they were on their way back North. 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. B. Hensen reports spotting White-throated Needletails, race "caudacutus", at Moruya, NSW, in January 2017. 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]

This frontal/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail shows the bulky build that separates this species from the similar Pacific (Fork-tailed) Swift
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2018]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail in wing moult
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2019]

Lateral view of a White-throated Needletail, showing the white throat and forehead and the pale-grey mantle
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2012]

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 in flight
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2017]

Lateral/ventral view of a White-throated Needletail; note the "needletail", i.e. the spiny tail feathers
[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]

Near-dorsal/ventral White-throated Needletail
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2017]

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

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]

Two 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.

Part of a flock of White-throated Needletails circling above open farmland
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2021]

Food, Diet

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

This White-throated Needletail 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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 22 January 2023, 22:02 +00:00