Brown-backed Needletail

The brown-backed needletail is among the largest swifts in the world. At about 23cm it is bigger than the alpine swift and the white-throated needletail, with a heavy, barrel-shaped body. It is dark brown except for a white undertail that extends onto the flanks. Its name comes from the spiny tips of the tail feathers, more prominent than in other needletails. Its flight is very fast, even for a swift (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is a resident breeder in hill forests of southern India and Southeast Asia, reaching the Greater Sunda Islands and Palawan in the Philippines. It nests in rock crevices in cliffs and lays three to five eggs. Like other swifts it spends most of its life in the air, catching insects in its bill, and uses its short legs only for clinging to vertical surfaces. SoIB 2023 lists it as resident and a summer migrant in India with a moderate range, estimates a long-term decline of about 69%, and rates it a Moderate conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).