birding-aus

Indian spine tailed swift

To: <>, "Strom, Kristine" <>
Subject: Indian spine tailed swift
From: "Mike Tarburton" <>
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 08:50:34 +1000
Dear Kristine & B'Ausers

I will assume you are talking about the White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus 
caudacutus).  Most of the population breeds in Russia and winters in Australia 
but there is a population that lives in the Himalayas, though few people if any 
call them Indian Needletail.  There is an Indian Swiftlet (Aerodramus unicolor) 
and the White-rumped Spinetail (Zoonavena sylvatica) that is sometimes called 
the Indian White-rumped Spinetail.  However, none of these birds are a member 
of the kingfisher family.  Swifts and swiftlets are members of the Apodidae 
family.

I have photos of the bird perched but not in flight.  There is an in-flight 
photo in the Handbook of the birds of the World (Vol. 5: p. 391).  It is 
credited to Dave Watts/ANT/NHPA.

I hope this is of use to you.

Cheers

Mike



Dr Mike Tarburton
Dean: School of Science and Technology
Pacific Adventist University
PMB, Boroko
Papua New Guinea

> ----------
> From:          on behalf of Strom, 
> Kristine
> Sent:         30 March 2005 3:17
> To:   
> Cc:   Venegas, Nadia; Cleary, Kimberly; Nakamura, Kathy
> Subject:      [BIRDING-AUS] Indian spine tailed swift
>
> Hello.
>
> I am a photo editor for Encyclopaedia Britannica working on a project which 
> involves finding an image of an Indian spine-tailed swift.  Through extensive 
> research via the internet and our usual photo sites, I keep coming up short.  
> I have not found a single image which uses this specific name.
>
> The information I was given for the search is as follows:
>
> photo Indian spine-tailed swift bird in flight--A member of the Kingfisher 
> family of birds, it is known to scientists as Hirundapus caudacutus. True to 
> its name, the spine-tailed swift has small spines projecting from its tail 
> feathers. For the same reason, the bird is known in some areas of the world 
> as the white-throated needle tail.
>
> Could you please advise...is this information correct?  Also, would you able 
> to advise as to where I might be able to procure an image of said bird, if 
> there is such a bird.
>
> Thank you in advance for your time and attention to this matter.  I look 
> forward to your response at your earliest convenience.
>
> Sincerely,
> Kristine Strom
>
> Kristine A. Strom
> Sr. Media Editor
> Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.
> 310 S. Michigan Avenue
> Art Department
> Chicago, IL 60604
> (312)347-7295 direct
> (312)294-2191 fax
>
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