Hirundapus celebensis
In 3 days <5%
The purple needletail (Hirundapus celebensis), or hagibas in Tagalog, is arguably the largest swift in the world. It is native to the Philippine archipelago and the Minahasa Peninsula (Sulawesi). This bird is a huge swift, measuring on average about 25 cm (9.8 in) long and weighing from 170 to 203 g (6.0 to 7.2 oz), with an average of 180 g (6.3 oz) in one study of 22 unsexed adult birds. The wingspan can range up to 60 cm (24 in), with a wing chord length of 20.3 to 23.4 cm (8.0 to 9.2 in). Only the related brown-backed needletail of Southeast Asia and the white-naped swift of Central America rival this species for size and wingspan, with the latter averaging 5 g (0.18 oz) less than this needletail in weight. The overall plumage is mostly uniform blackish, with a whitish loral marking. This species has the large size, white horseshoe-shaped underside-marking, and the subtly-needled tail typical of the needletails. Compared to other needletails, it is extremely dark and lacks the pale throat patch of white-throated needletail and silver-backed needletail. Purple needletail has white-lores, like the nominate form of white-throated needletail and brown-backed needletail... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manila | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Purple Needletail sighting in Manila on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 184th most-seen of the 191 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 Purple Needletail in Manila on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Only Manila, in our data
Manila is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Purple Needletail sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Apodidae
The closest relatives of the Purple Needletail that you can see in Manila (family Apodidae, Swifts) are Gray-rumped Swiftlet (about 50%) and Ameline Swiftlet (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purple Needletail is recorded against all the birds logged in Manila (12 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.
