White-throated Needletail

White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus) is a very large, powerful swift with a barrel-shaped body, pale throat and white horseshoe marking around the undertail. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It catches aerial insects at high speed over forests and mountains and nests in hollow trees or rock crevices. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).