Cypsiurus balasiensis
The Asian Palm Swift, *Cypsiurus balasiensis*, is a small, slender bird belonging to the Apodidae family, renowned for its almost entirely aerial existence. Measuring approximately 13 cm in length, with a wingspan around 28-30 cm, its plumage is a uniform sooty brown or grey, often appearing slightly paler on the throat and belly. Distinctive field marks include its long, narrow, scythe-like wings and a deeply forked tail, which is frequently held closed, giving it a pointed, spiky appearance...
The Asian Palm Swift primarily inhabits open country, cultivated areas, urban environments, and forests, specifically where various species of palm trees are present, typically at low to moderate elevations.
Asian Palm Swifts are obligate aerial insectivores, feeding exclusively on small flying insects such as beetles, flies, true bugs, moths, ants, and termites, which they expertly capture on the wing.
Asian Palm Swifts are highly gregarious birds, often seen in large, noisy flocks continuously circling and foraging in the air throughout the day. Their lives are almost entirely airborne, with individuals only landing to breed. Nesting is a unique process: a shallow, cup-shaped structure of feat...
The Asian Palm Swift boasts a wide distribution across South and Southeast Asia, inhabiting various regions from the Indian subcontinent eastward. Its range extends throughout India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. Further east, it is fo...
Least Concern
- The Asian Palm Swift spends almost its entire life in flight, only landing to attend its nest. - Its unique nest is a small, shallow cup of feathers and plant down (often from palms) glued with saliva to the underside of a hanging palm frond. - Even more remarkably, the eggs are also glued dire...