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 Royal Bardia National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 134th most-seen of the 233 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.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-rumped Needletail in Royal Bardia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, June and October–November, the lowest months. That is one of Royal Bardia National Park's driest months, with about 75 mm of rain against 590 mm in July. August has too few records to rate.
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.
Yes
Of the 8 parks where we can rate White-rumped Needletail sightings, Royal Bardia National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Periyar National Park (India, about 10%) and Nagarhole National Park (India, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-rumped Needletail is recorded against all the birds logged in Royal Bardia National Park (23 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.
