Rare vagrant. Only two accepted records, NT (March 1979) and Qld (Jan 1994). There was a sighting on Christams Island, April, 2008 (Dejan Stojanovic).
Habitat
Aerial. Over lowlands to mountains up to more than 2100 m above sea level. Often over cliffs and closely associated with urban areas and human settlements.
Central Africa, Middle East, India, south-eastern Asia to Indonesia. Vagrant to Australia including Christmas Island. Some populations migrate further south than their breeding areas.
House Swift (Apus nipalensis) [XC596992]
by Sunny Tseng from Jiji Wuchang Temple, Taiwan (call)
House Swift (Apus nipalensis) [XC359374]
by Kuan-Chieh (Chuck) Hung, Taiwanbirdguide.com from Bangkok, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, Thailand (flight call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds Africa, eastwards through southern Asia to western Indonesia.
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Nest
Composed of straw and feathers glued together against some overhang, sometimes isolated but often touching each other and overlapping, in holes of buildings and cliffs. In colonies.
Eggs (Guide)
1 - 4; glossy, white; 21 - 25 x 14 - 16 mm. Incubation: 23 days.
Young
Fledge in about 38 days.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Little Swift (Apus affinis). Often considered conspecific with Little Swift (Apus affinis).
Subspecies subfurcatus, being vagrant to Australia.
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
nipalensis (Hodgson, 1836) - Nepal east to south-eastern China (Fujian) and Japan, south through Assam and south-eastern Asia, and also northern Philippines.
subfurcatus (Blyth, 1849) - Malay Peninsula, Sumatra including Riau Archipelago and Belitung, Anambas, northern Natunas and Borneo.
furcatus Brooke, 1971 - Java and Bali.
kuntzi Deignan, 1958 - Taiwan.
Similar Species
Fork-tailed Swift (Apus pacificus) which is larger, has a more forked tail, finely pointed wing tips, White-rumped Swiftlet (Aerodramus spodiopygius), Uniform Swiftlet (Aerodramus vanikorensis), Glossy Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta) which are much smaller and slimmer, with generally paler, more grey-brown coloration, and much weaker and more fluttering flight.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
BirdLife International Species Factsheet