Wildlifeof India
Blyth's Swift
Nightjars, Frogmouths & Swifts
Photo: (c) Afsar Nayakkan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Apus leuconyx
Also known as: Apus pacificus leuconyx
AviList (2026) treats this bird as a subspecies, Apus pacificus leuconyx, of the Fork-tailed Swift (Apus pacificus), which is also on this site. IOC lists it as a separate species.
Basic stats
Diet
Invertebrates
Habitat
Forest; nests on cliffs
Range
Breeds from the outer Himalaya through the Assam hills; winters in India and Sri Lanka
Clutch size
2–3 eggs
Blyth's swift is a small swift, superficially like a house martin but completely unrelated; the likeness comes from convergent evolution. It is similar in size to the common swift and black except for a white rump, and is told from a partially leucistic common swift by a deeper tail fork, longer wings, a bigger head and a larger white throat patch (Wikipedia, general species account).
It breeds from the outer Himalaya through the Assam hills and is migratory, wintering in India and Sri Lanka. Nests are built on cliffs, with two or three eggs, and a swift returns to the same site year after year, rebuilding its nest when necessary. SoIB 2023 rates it a Moderate conservation priority, a within-India migrant of forest with a Restricted range of about 27,000 km² and insufficient data on trends (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).
Quick answers
- What does the Blyth's Swift eat?
- Invertebrates
- What habitat does the Blyth's Swift live in?
- Forest; nests on cliffs
- Where is the Blyth's Swift found?
- Breeds from the outer Himalaya through the Assam hills; winters in India and Sri Lanka
- How many eggs does the Blyth's Swift lay?
- 2–3 eggs