House Swift

House Swift

Apus nipalensis

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Taichung

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

1,759 Verified sightings at Taichung
2,163 In all 23 parks From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the House Swift

The house swift (Apus nipalensis) is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Japan, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. It is capable of flying long distances by alternately shutting off hemispheres of its brain in-flight.

It was formerly considered a subspecies of the little swift, under the name Apus affinis subfurcatus. The house swift looks quite similar to the little swift. It is a small bird, but a medium-sized swift, with a wingspan of 12.5-14.5 cm. Its body size ranges from 14 to 16 cm and weighs approximately 20-35 g. This species has a dark, slightly forked tail. Other than the white rump band and white throat-patch, the house swift has a black plumage, darker than the little swift.

The name Apus nipalensis has two parts. Apus is the genus for swifts, and comes from the Latin word for the swift, or swallow with no feet. Nipalensis means from Nepal. Currently, there are four subspecies of the house swift: Apus nipalensis nipalensis, Apus nipalensis subfurcatus, Apus nipalensis furcatus, and Apus nipalensis kuntzi.

The house swift is highly aerial, spending much of its time feeding in the air. The house... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call1:01

Thailand · 2024

© Greg Irving · XC894691 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:25

Malaysia · 2015

© Marc Anderson · XC266139 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:26

Thailand · 2021

© Peter Ericsson · XC754945 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
2 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~20%
3 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
4 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
5 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
6 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~10%
7 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~10%
8 Bako National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
9 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Langtang National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
11 Jiuzhaigou National Park 🇨🇳 China
<5%
12 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
13 Tangkoko Nature Reserve 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
14 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
15 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
16 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
17 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
<5%
18 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
19 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
20 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
21 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
22 Kerinci Seblat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
23 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Zhuhai [Macau] 🇨🇳 China
~50%
2 Dhaka 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~50%
3 Taichung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~40%
4 Yogyakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~40%
5 Xiamen City 🇨🇳 China
~40%
6 Xiuying District 🇨🇳 China
~30%
7 Jakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~30%
8 Savar 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~30%
9 Bangkok 🇹🇭 Thailand
~30%
10 Quanzhou 🇨🇳 China
~20%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a House Swift in Taichung?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a House Swift sighting in Taichung on a given day, based on 1,759 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 18th most-seen of the 121 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a House Swift in Taichung?

June

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a House Swift in Taichung on a given day, against about 30% in March–April and September–November, the lowest months. That is one of Taichung's wettest months, with about 310 mm of rain against 40 mm in December.

What time of day is best to see a House Swift?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most House Swift sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Taichung the best place to see a House Swift?

3rd of 44

Of the 44 cities where we can rate House Swift sightings, Taichung ranks 3rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Zhuhai [Macau] (China, about 50%) and Dhaka (Bangladesh, about 50%).

Where does the House Swift sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the House Swift is recorded against all the birds logged in Taichung (1,759 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.

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