Family:
The white-throated needletail, also known as the needle-tailed swift or the spine-tailed swift, is a large, stocky swift, with long, sabre-shaped wings, a bullet-like body, and a square-cut tail tipped with stiff, spine-like feathers that give the species its name. Its plumage is mostly sooty dark brown, contrasted by a pale blue-grey back, a white throat, and a white, U-shaped patch beneath the tail.
On the head, the forehead is greyish-white, it has a line of bristly feathers along the eyes, and a short, broad black beak
The white-throated needletail is widely believed to be the fastest bird in level flight, capable of reaching speeds of up to 170 km/h.
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White-throated needletails eat almost exclusivley aerial insects such as beetles, moths, flies, and bees.
The white-throated needletail breeds in Central Asia and southern Siberia, only coming to land to nest in cliff crevices or tree hollows. In winter, it migrates south to the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia.
During migration, it flies high over mountaintops and valleys sometimes with migrating birds of prey.
