Purple Needletail

Hirundapus celebensis (Sclater, PL, 1866)

Purple Needletail, Hirundapus celebensis, is a swift of the Oriental Region and Australasia, breeding in the Philippines apart from the Palawan group and the Sulu Archipelago, as well as Sulawesi, Banggai and the Sula Islands east of Sulawesi. It is a forest and open-country bird found from lowlands to hills at 150–2,000 m. It is a large swift, and its plumage is mostly dark with a whitish mark on the lores, a white horseshoe-shaped underside marking and a deep purple sheen in strong light. It is also known as hagibas in Tagalog.

Order

Apodiformes

Family

Apodidae — Swifts

Breeding range

Oriental Region, Australasia: Philippines (except Palawan group and Sulu Arch.), Sulawesi, Banggai and Sula is. (e of Sulawesi)