• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Range map
• Resources

Taxonomic note
Aerodramus unicolor (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) was previously placed in the genus Collocalia.

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	434,000 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	2.84 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is reported to be the most abundant swift in Sri Lanka (del Hoyo et al. 1999). The population is suspected to be in decline owing to illegal nest harvesting (del Hoyo et al. 1999).

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to illegal nest harvesting (del Hoyo et al. 1999).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
India	extant	native	yes
Sri Lanka	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
India	Achankovil Forest Division
India	Anamudi Shola National Park
India	Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary
India	Burnt Island (Bandra) Vengurla Rocks
India	Camel’s Hump Mountains
India	Malayattur Reserve Forest
India	Mathikettan Shola National Park
India	Muthikulam-Siruvani Reserve Forest
India	Pampadum Shola National Park

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Caves and Subterranean Habitats (non-aquatic)	Caves	major	breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 2200 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Species factsheet: Indian Swiftlet Aerodramus unicolor. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/indian-swiftlet-aerodramus-unicolor on 13/01/2025.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2025) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 13/01/2025.