White-throated Needletail

The white-throated needletail is a large swift, 19–20 centimetres long with a wing length of 195–225 millimetres; males weigh 109–140 grams and females 101–125. The plumage is mainly dark olive-brown, with a striking pale horseshoe pattern on the underside and a pale, broad throat patch. The long wings are fairly broad at the base and taper to a point, the body is rather powerful and the head relatively large and stretched forward. The broad, short tail is cut straight and shows the spines that give the bird its name, feather shafts projecting beyond the vanes of the tail feathers. (German Wikipedia, general species account)

These plumage features and the characteristic shape make the species fairly easy to identify. It breeds from Siberia to Japan and in the Himalayas. In the Himalayas it is resident, while the more northerly populations spend the northern winter mainly in eastern Australia. (German Wikipedia, general species account)