Asian Palm Swift
Cypsiurus balasiensis
About This Species
This small, fast-flying swift is closely tied to palm trees, gluing its tiny nest to the underside of a frond with saliva and feather down. Look for it scything low over villages, coastlines, and open ground near palm groves across South and Southeast Asia, often in loose flocks. It is resident year-round, but dusk is the best time to watch groups swirl and settle around a roost palm.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- As a common, non-threatened aerial insectivore it needs no special viewing distance, but nests are fragile and easily dislodged, so avoid climbing or shaking roost palms.
- Most range countries have general wild bird protection statutes covering nests and eggs, though enforcement and specifics vary widely across South and Southeast Asia.
- Watching from below without touching the nesting fronds is enough to avoid disturbance.
LCAvesApodiformesApodidae
Seasonal Activity
426,693 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Apodidae
Photo
(c) sandeep75, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by sandeep75
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.