Silver-rumped Spinetail

Scientific Name: Rhaphidura leucopygialis
Malay Name: Layang-layang Ekor-Pendek Melayu
Chinese Name: 银腰针尾雨燕

Range:
Found from the Thai-Malay Peninsula to the Greater Sundas comprising Sumatra, Java and Borneo.

Taxonomy:
Monotypic.

Size: 11 cm

Identification:
Smaller than the other migratory Needletail species but still look robust with all blackish underparts, dark bluish gloss upperparts, prominent silvery-white lower back, rump and uppertail-coverts, short square-cut tail, very broad paddle-shaped wings and bare shafts (spines) extending from tail-tip. Juvenile has less glossy underparts.

Similar looking species: White-throated Needletail, Silver-backed Needletail, Brown-backed Needletail

Habitat: Broadleaved evergreen forest and clearings.

Behaviour/Ecology: Roosts in large tree hollows in the emergent canopy.

Local Status: Very rare non-breeding visitor

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2016)

Past accepted records in our database:

Past records, bar chart (see more bar charts):

Photos:

Silver-rumped Needletail from Taman Negara. Photo credits: Francis Yap

Silver-rumped Needletail from Taman Negara. Photo credits: See Toh Yew Wai

Silver-rumped Needletail from Taman Negara. Photo credits: See Toh Yew Wai

Silver-rumped Spinetail at Taman Negara. Photo Credit: Francis Yap

External Links:
Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page
Photos: Oriental Bird Images
Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link
Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link
eBird Species page: eBird (Silver-rumped Needletail)

References:
BirdLife International. (2016). Rhaphidura leucopygialis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22686661A93120578.en. Accessed on 19 December 2021

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.