General

White-throated Needletail: Large swift, gray-brown overall with white throat and undertail. Wings are glossed with green. Tail is short and square, with protruding feather shafts giving a spiked appearance. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

White-throated Needletail: Native of Eurasia, sometimes visits the outer Aleutians in the springtime. Preferred habitats include skies over cities, timbered ridges, and hilltops.

Breeding and Nesting

White-throated Needletail: Three to six white eggs are laid in a nest made of various materials, glued together with saliva, and built in a hollow or similar crevice high in a tall conifer. Incubation ranges from 17 to 23 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

White-throated Needletail: Feeds on flying insects, such as termites, beetles, and flies; forages in flight.

Vocalization

White-throated Needletail: Rapid, repeated "chitter."

Similar Species

White-throated Needletail: None in range.