Brown-backed Needletail
Brown-backed NeedletailBrown-backed NeedletailBrown-backed NeedletailBrown-backed Needletail

Brown-backed Needletail

Hirundapus giganteus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
<5% · Rare
overall probability at Kinabalu Park
9 Verified records at Kinabalu Park
March Best month highest sighting rate
🌅 Crepuscular When it's active at dawn and dusk

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 India and southeast Asia, extending to the Greater Sunda islands of Indonesia and Palawan in the southern Philippines. They build their nests in rock crevices in cliffs, laying 3-5 eggs. The flight is impressively fast, even compared to other swifts. Wikipedia →

<5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-backed Needletail sighting in Kinabalu Park, based on 9 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Closest Relatives at Kinabalu Park

White-throated Needletail
LC

White-throated Needletail

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Hirundapus caudacutus

<5% · Rare
Plume-toed Swiftlet

Plume-toed Swiftlet

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Collocalia affinis

40–50% · Likely
Silver-rumped Needletail
LC

Silver-rumped Needletail

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Rhaphidura leucopygialis

<5% · Rare
House Swift
LC Endemic

House Swift

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Apus nipalensis

<5% · Rare
Waterfall Swift
LC

Waterfall Swift

Bird

Hydrochous gigas

<5% · Rare
White-nest Swiftlet
LC

White-nest Swiftlet

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Aerodramus fuciphagus

<5% · Rare
Asian Palm-Swift
LC

Asian Palm-Swift

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Cypsiurus balasiensis

<5% · Rare
Pacific Swift
LC

Pacific Swift

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Apus pacificus

Insufficient data
Black-nest Swiftlet
LC

Black-nest Swiftlet

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Aerodramus maximus

Insufficient data
Bornean Swiftlet

Bornean Swiftlet

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Collocalia dodgei

Insufficient data
Gray-rumped Treeswift
LC

Gray-rumped Treeswift

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Hemiprocne longipennis

<5% · Rare
Whiskered Treeswift
LC

Whiskered Treeswift

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Hemiprocne comata

Insufficient data

📅 Monthly Probability

<5
Jan
<5
Feb
<5
Mar
<5
Apr
<5
May
<5
Jun
<5
Jul
<5
Aug
<5
Sep
<5
Oct
<5
Nov
<5
Dec

🌅 When They're Spotted

Most active at dawn and dusk · across all parks (global)

🌅Crepuscular
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
20–30%
2 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
10–20%
3 Cuc Phuong National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
5–10%
4 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
5–10%
5 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
5–10%
6 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
7 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
<5%
8 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
9 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
11 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
12 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
13 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
14 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
15 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
16 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
17 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
Insufficient data
18 Eravikulam National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data
19 Kerinci Seblat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
Insufficient data
20 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
Insufficient data
21 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Brown-backed Needletail in Kinabalu Park?

About 0% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-backed Needletail sighting in Kinabalu Park, based on 9 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Brown-backed Needletail in Kinabalu Park?

March has the highest sighting rate for Brown-backed Needletail in Kinabalu Park in our monthly data.

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