Rhaphidura leucopygialis
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In 3 days <5%
The silver-rumped spinetail or silver-rumped needletail (Rhaphidura leucopygialis, sometimes spelled Raphidura leucopygialis) is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Research on the silver- Rumped spine tail has utilized facultative heterothermy, or even torpor, as a physiological mechanism to reduce its metabolic rate and conserve energy in its tropical environment. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 7 | Tanjung Puting National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 8 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 9 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 10 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 11 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-rumped Needletail sighting in Kuala Lumpur on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 185th most-seen of the 228 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-rumped Needletail in Kuala Lumpur on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 1 and 4 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Silver-rumped Needletail sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Kuala Lumpur, in our data
Kuala Lumpur is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Silver-rumped Needletail sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Apodidae
The closest relatives of the Silver-rumped Needletail that you can see in Kuala Lumpur (family Apodidae, Swifts) are White-nest Swiftlet (about 20%) and House Swift (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Silver-rumped Needletail is recorded against all the birds logged in Kuala Lumpur (14 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
