White-throated needletail: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the white-throated needletail lives – recorded in 10 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Hirundapus caudacutus
Group	Hummingbirds, swifts & nightjars
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	10 countries
Continents	Asia, Europe, Oceania
Class	Bird
Order	Apodiformes
Family	Apodidae

Where does the white-throated needletail live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the white-throated needletail in 10 countries and territories across Asia, Europe and Oceania. Wikidata gives its range as: Nanling Mountains.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the white-throated needletail endangered?

The white-throated needletail’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the white-throated needletail?

The white-throated needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus) is a bird in the order Apodiformes and the family Apodidae, genus Hirundapus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the white-throated needletail

The white-throated needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus), also known as the needle-tailed swift or spine-tailed swift, is a large swift in the genus Hirundapus. It is reputed to reach speeds of up to 170 km/h (110 mph) in horizontal flight, but this is unverified because the methods used to measure its speed have not been published.

75 km/h (47 mph) is more likely, but this is still at least 100 times the bird's length per second.

They build their nests in rock crevices in cliffs or hollow trees. They do not like to sit on the ground and spend most of their time in the air. They feed on small, flying insects like beetles, flies, bees and moths.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article White-throated needletail (revision 1378918375), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q31769 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).