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Brown-backed Needletail

Hirundapus giganteus

The brown-backed needletail (Hirundapus giganteus), or brown needletail, is a large swift. These birds have very short legs which they use only mainly for clinging to vertical surfaces. They never settle voluntarily on the ground and spend most of their lives in the air, living on the insects they catch in their beaks. These swifts are resident breeders in hill forests in southern Asia from India east to Indonesia and the Philippines. They build their nests in rock crevices in cliffs, laying 3-5 eggs. The flight is impressively fast, even compared to other swifts. The brown-backed needletail is a very large swift, and at 23 cm is bigger than the Alpine swift and the white-throated needletail. It has a similar build to the latter species, with a heavy barrel-like body. They are dark brown except for a white undertail, which extends on to the flanks. The Hirundapus needletailed swifts get their name from the spined ends of their tail, which is not forked as in the Apus typical swifts.
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Brown-backed Needletails on Birda

Sightings

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Lucas Corneliussen
Wednesday 04 Jan 2023 - 6:35am
Thailand
A map showing the sighting location
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Lucas Corneliussen
Tuesday 03 Jan 2023 - 6:55am
Thailand
A map showing the sighting location
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Hemant Kirola
Wednesday 07 Dec 2022 - 6:07am
India
A map showing the sighting location
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Hemant Kirola
Saturday 25 Dec 2021 - 6:22am
India
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