Wildlifeof Malaysia
Himalayan Swiftlet
Nightjars, Frogmouths & Swifts
Photo: (c) Wang.QG, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Aerodramus brevirostris
Basic stats
Diet
Invertebrates
Habitat
Colonial breeder in the Himalaya and Southeast Asia
Range
Himalaya east to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand, and Southeast Asia
Clutch size
2 white eggs
Size
13–14cm
The Himalayan swiftlet is a small swift, 13–14 cm long, with swept-back wings like a crescent or boomerang, a slender body and a forked tail. It is mainly grey-brown above and paler brown below, with a pale grey rump and a pale patch above and behind the bill. Its roosting call is a twittering chit-chit, and it also has a piercing teeree-teeree-teeree (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is a common colonial breeder in the Himalaya and Southeast Asia, and some populations migrate. The nominate race is an altitudinal migrant, breeding up to above 4,500 m and wintering between 900 and 2,750 m. Nests of this colonial swift may touch, and the clutch is two white eggs. Two of its five subspecies are often given full species status (Wikipedia, general species account).
Quick answers
- What does the Himalayan Swiftlet eat?
- Invertebrates
- What habitat does the Himalayan Swiftlet live in?
- Colonial breeder in the Himalaya and Southeast Asia
- Where is the Himalayan Swiftlet found?
- Himalaya east to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand, and Southeast Asia
- How many eggs does the Himalayan Swiftlet lay?
- 2 white eggs
- How big is the Himalayan Swiftlet?
- 13–14cm