View source for White-throated needletail

{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
|name=White-throated needletail
|image=White-throated Needletail 0A2A6919.jpg
|range_map=HirundapusCaudacutusDistribution.png
|range_map_caption=<br/>{{legend0|#2BFF2B|Northern summer|border=solid 1px black}} {{legend0|#008000|Resident|border=solid 1px black}} {{legend0|#F5F338|Northern winter|border=solid 1px black}}
|status=LC
|status_system=IUCN3.1|status_ref=<ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2019 |title=''Hirundapus caudacutus'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T22686677A155548867 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22686677A155548867.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>
|genus=Hirundapus
|species=caudacutus
|authority=([[John Latham (ornithologist)|Latham]], 1801)
}}

The '''white-throated needletail''' ('''''Hirundapus caudacutus'''''), also known as '''needle-tailed swift''' or '''spine-tailed swift''', is a large [[Swift (bird)|swift]] in the [[genus]] ''[[Hirundapus]]''. It is reputed to reach speeds of up to 170 km/h (105 mph) in horizontal flight, but this is unverified because the methods used to measure its speed have not been published.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8539000/8539383.stm|title=Supercharged swifts fly fastest|last=Bourton|first=Jody|date=2 March 2010|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=28 October 2017|language=en}}</ref>

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 [[beetle]]s, [[Fly|flies]], [[bee]]s and [[moth]]s.<ref name="BirdLife">{{Cite web|url=http://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/white-throated-needletail|title=White-throated Needletail|work=[[BirdLife International]]|language=en|access-date=29 October 2017}}</ref>

The white-throated needletail is a [[Bird migration|migratory bird]], breeding in [[Central Asia]] and southern [[Siberia]], and wintering south in the [[Indian Subcontinent]], [[Southeast Asia]] and [[Australia]]. It is a rare vagrant in [[Western Europe]] and has been recorded as far west as [[Norway]], [[Sweden]] and [[Great Britain]]. In June 2013, an individual was spotted in Great Britain for the first time in 22 years. It later flew into a [[wind turbine]] and died; its body was sent to a museum.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/birdwatchers-flock-to-see-rare-bird-then-watch-it-killed-by-wind-turbine/|title=Birdwatchers flock to see rare bird, then watch it killed by wind turbine|work=FoxNews|access-date=2013-06-29|date=28 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Huyton|first=Harry|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2013/jun/28/white-throated-needletail-wind-turbines|title=Let's not martyr the white-throated needletail to the anti-wind cause|work=The Guardian|access-date=1 July 2013|location=London|date=28 June 2013}}</ref>

In June 2022, a bird was recovered on an expedition ship MV Ortelius near Fair Isle approx 70 miles off Duncansby Head, Caithness, Scotland and successfully released.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.birdguides.com/articles/ | title=Articles - BirdGuides }}</ref>

White-throated needletails are large swifts with a robust, barrel-like body. They measure about 20 cm and weigh between 110 and 120 grams. They are greyish-brown except for a white throat and a white patch, extending from the base of the tail to the flanks.<ref name="BirdLife"/>

Needle-tailed swifts get their name from the spined end of their tail, which is not forked as it is in the typical swifts of the genus ''[[Apus (genus)|Apus]]''.

The white-throated needletail was first described by the English ornithologist [[John Latham (ornithologist)|John Latham]] in 1801 under the [[binomial name]] ''Hirundo caudacuta''.<ref>{{ cite book|last=Latham|first=John|author-link=John Latham (ornithologist)|year=1801|title=Supplementum indicis ornithologici sive systematis ornithologiae|place=London|publisher=Leigh & Sotheby|language=la|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33261431|page=lvii }}</ref> Their current genus ''Hirundapus'' is constructed from the names of the  [[swallow]] genus ''[[Hirundo]]'' and the swift genus ''Apus''. The specific name ''caudacutus'' comes from the [[Latin]] words ''cauda'' meaning "tail" and ''acutus'' meaning "pointed".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling|title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names|last=Jobling|first=James A.|publisher=Christopher Helm Publishers|year=2010|isbn=978-1408125014|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n94 94] and 193}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of birds by flight speed]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Hirundapus caudacutus |''Hirundapus caudacutus''}}
*{{Wikispecies-inline|Hirundapus caudacutus |''Hirundapus caudacutus''}}
*{{field guide birds of the world|Hirundapus caudacutus}}
*{{Avibase|name=''Hirundapus caudacutus''}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q31769}}

[[Category:Hirundapus|white-throated needletail]]
[[Category:Birds of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Birds of Manchuria]]
[[Category:Birds of Korea]]
[[Category:Birds of Japan]]
[[Category:Birds of the Himalayas]]
[[Category:Birds of Tibet]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1801|white-throated needletail]]


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