How big is a Silver-backed Needletail?

The Silver-backed Needletail is a medium sized bird weighing about 84 g.

Where can you see a Silver-backed Needletail?

The Silver-backed Needletail occurs in 14 countries, including Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Cambodia.

What birds look similar to a Silver-backed Needletail?

The Silver-backed Needletail is most easily confused with the Purple Needletail, the Brown-backed Needletail and the White-throated Needletail.

Is the Silver-backed Needletail endangered?

The Silver-backed Needletail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Silver-backed Needletail

Hirundapus cochinchinensis

Swifts · Apodiformes · Rare

The Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis) is a rare swift found in 14 countries, weighing about 84 g. The silver-backed needletail is a species of swift in the family Apodidae.

Least ConcernRareEats invertebratesforest84 g

Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis), photo 1 — Photo: Dan Vickers · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis), photo 2 — Photo: Tristan Jobin · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis), photo 3 — Photo: Tristan Jobin · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis), photo 4 — Photo: ian_mcallan · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis), photo 5 — Photo: ian_mcallan · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis), photo 6 — Photo: Ian Dugdale · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis), photo 7 — Photo: Bartels E. · http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis), photo 8 — Photo: Tristan Jobin · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis), photo 9 — Photo: Tristan Jobin · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis), photo 10 — Photo: Tristan Jobin · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

About the Silver-backed Needletail

The silver-backed needletail is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Southeast Asia, Sumatra, Java and Taiwan. It is a vagrant to Christmas Island. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where it lives

Taiwan Vietnam Thailand India Cambodia Malaysia Hong Kong SAR China Nepal Singapore China Laos Indonesia Bhutan Myanmar (Burma)

When to see it

Best months: February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, with peak activity in April. It is a variable species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

What does a Silver-backed Needletail look like?: The silver-backed needletail is a species of swift in the family Apodidae.
How big is a Silver-backed Needletail?: The Silver-backed Needletail is a medium sized bird weighing about 84 g.
Where can you see a Silver-backed Needletail?: The Silver-backed Needletail occurs in 14 countries, including Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Cambodia.
What birds look similar to a Silver-backed Needletail?: The Silver-backed Needletail is most easily confused with the Purple Needletail, the Brown-backed Needletail and the White-throated Needletail.
Is the Silver-backed Needletail endangered?: The Silver-backed Needletail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Silver-backed Needletail for real

BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.

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