Justification This poorly known swift qualifies as Vulnerable owing to its very small population. Discovery of new breeding colonies or identification of possible threats would necessitate a reassessment of its threatened status.

Family/Sub-family Apodidae

Species name author (Jerdon, 1864)

Taxonomic source(s) Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Identification 17-18 cm. Slim, all-dark swift with scaly underside and deeply forked tail. Tends to have dark throat. Similar spp. Fork-tailed Swift A. pacificus has white rump-band, less sharply forked tail and paler throat. Common Swift A. apus lacks scaling to underparts and has shorter, less deeply forked tail. Voice High-pitched, rapid, quavering tsrr'i'i'i'i and tsrr'i'i'i'i'is'it at nest-sites.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

250-999

unset

5,200 km²

No

Range & population Apus acuticauda is known from just a few breeding colonies in the Himalayan foothills in Bhutan, and the hills of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram, north-east India¹. Its seasonal movements and wintering areas are virtually unknown. There are records throughout the year from India and during the non-breeding season from north-west Thailand and Yunnan, China². There are no confirmed records from Myanmar, but it is likely to occur there. At known breeding colonies, the number of birds ranges from a few to 200 and the total population may not exceed 1,000.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It breeds colonially in the crevices of rocky cliffs and deep gorges, from 200-1,350 m, generally in the vicinity of forest. Breeding is from March-May usually at the same site each year. Birds apparently remain in close proximity to the nesting colonies while breeding, normally disappearing soon afterwards and reappearing the following year. Away from breeding sites, it has been recorded up to at least 1,500 m. It has been suggested that it may only undertake local movements, but this requires further investigation.

Threats There are no known threats, although its reliance on forest as a feeding habitat should be investigated.

Conservation measures underway A presumed breeding site is located within the Blue Mountain National Park, Mizoram, north-east India. It has also been seen near to Kaziranga National Park and may use that area for feeding and/or breeding. Strict forest policy and wildlife protection laws in Bhutan suggest that its future there is secure.

Conservation measures proposed Advocate to include this as a key target species during surveys across north-east India, Bhutan and western and northern Myanmar to establish its breeding range, population status, ecology, seasonal movements, and potential threats. Strict protection should be afforded to all known colonies.

References BirdLife International (2001). 1. Chantler (2005). 2. J. Hornskov in litt. (2005).

Further web sources of information

Fully detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001), together with new information collated since the publication of the Red Data Book

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Pete Davidson (BirdLife International), Nic Peet (BirdLife International), Joe Tobias (BirdLife International)

Contributors Jesper Hornskov

IUCN Red List evaluators Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Mike Crosby (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Apus acuticauda. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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