Zoonavena sylvatica
Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The white-rumped spinetail or white-rumped needletail (Zoonavena sylvatica) is a species of swift found in the forests of Bangladesh, India (the Western Ghats) and Nepal. It is often seen over waterbodies in the middle of forest. It can resemble a house swift but has a white vent.
The white-rumped spinetail is insectivorous. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 2 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 8 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-rumped Needletail sighting in Periyar National Park on a given day, based on 163 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 127th most-seen of the 227 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June, September and December–March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-rumped Needletail in Periyar National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–May, July–August and October–November, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-rumped Needletail sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 8 parks where we can rate White-rumped Needletail sightings, Periyar National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Royal Bardia National Park (Nepal, about 10%).
Same family: Apodidae
The closest relatives of the White-rumped Needletail that you can see in Periyar National Park (family Apodidae, Swifts) are Little Swift (about 20%), Indian Swiftlet (about 20%) and Brown-backed Needletail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-rumped Needletail is recorded against all the birds logged in Periyar National Park (163 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
