The Papuan spinetail (''Mearnsia novaeguineae''), also known as the Papuan needletail, New Guinea spine-tailed swift or Papuan spine-tailed swift, is a small (11.5 cm in length), stocky

swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

with a short, rounded tail and very fast flight. Head and upperparts glossy blue-black, white or whitish belly and undertail coverts, dark underwing with pale central stripe. The small spines at the end of the tail are not visible in flight.

Distribution

Endemic to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

where it is widespread in the lowlands and hills up to 550 m. It has been recorded from

Boigu Island, Queensland Boigu Island (also known as Malu Kiyay or Malu Kiwai) is the most northerly inhabited island of Queensland and of Australia. It is part of the Top Western group of the Torres Strait Islands, which lie in the Torres Strait separating Cape York Pe ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n territory in north-western

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

Habitat

Forest edges, gardens and cleared areas with standing dead trees.

Food

Flying insects.

Breeding

Nests in a high

tree hollow A tree hollow or tree hole is a semi-enclosed cavity which has naturally formed in the trunk or branch of a tree. They are found mainly in old trees, whether living or not. Hollows form in many species of trees, and are a prominent feature of nat ...

Conservation

Common and widespread species assessed as being of

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

* Beehler, Bruce M.; & Finch, Brian W. (1985). ''Species Checklist of the Birds of New Guinea''. RAOU Monograph No.1. Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union: Melbourne. * Beehler, Bruce M.; Pratt, Thane K.; & Zimmerman, Dale A. (1986). ''Birds of New Guinea''. Wau Ecology Handbook No.9. Princeton University Press. * BirdLife International. (2006). Species factsheet: ''Mearnsia novaeguineae''. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2 February 2007 * Clarke, Rohan H. (2006). Papuan Spine-tailed Swifts Mearnsia novaeguineae on Boigu Island, Torres Strait, Queensland. Australian Field Ornithology 23: 125–129. * Coates, Brian J. (1985). ''The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Volume 1: Non-Passerines''. Dover Publications: Alderley, Queensland. Papuan spinetail Birds of New Guinea Papuan spinetail Papuan spinetail Endemic fauna of New Guinea {{Apodiformes-stub