Christmas Swiftlet (Collocalia natalis)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Christmas Swiftlet

Collocalia natalis Lister, 1889

9–11 cmLength5.9 gWeight

Busiest months: November–December · Most records: Christmas Island

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: November–December · Most records: Christmas Island

Christmas Swiftlet has been recorded at 10 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. SettlementChristmas Island98 records
  2. Christmas Island National ParkChristmas Island98 records
  3. Territory Day Park and LookoutChristmas Island94 records
More places
  1. Christmas Island Refuse SiteChristmas Island55 records
  2. The DalesChristmas Island47 records
  3. Christmas Island Golf CourseChristmas Island43 records
  4. Margaret Knoll LookoutChristmas Island41 records
  5. Flying Fish CoveChristmas Island41 records
  6. East of Rocky PointChristmas Island23 records
  7. VQ3 LodgeChristmas Island17 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Christmas Island

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

Questions

How big is the Christmas Swiftlet?

The Christmas Swiftlet is about 9–11 cm long and weighs around 5.9 g.

Where does the Christmas Swiftlet live?

Its breeding range: Indian Ocean: Christmas Island (south of western Java). It is most often recorded in Christmas Island.

When is the best time to see the Christmas Swiftlet?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in November and December (Southern Hemisphere).

What does the Christmas Swiftlet eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Christmas Swiftlet in?

It belongs to the family Swifts (Apodidae), order Apodiformes.

At a glance

Length
9–11 cm
Weight
5.9 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Feeds in the air
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
More measurements
Wing
94 mm
Tail
36 mm
Bill
5 mm
Tarsus
9 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Indian Ocean: Christmas Island (south of western Java)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Swifts Apodidae
Genus
Collocalia

Other birds in the genus Collocalia

Christmas Swiftlet

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Leo. ↗

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