CreatureData

Giant swiftlet

Hydrochous gigas (Hartert & A. L. Butler, 1901)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The giant swiftlet (Hydrochous gigas) is a species in the family Apodidae, order Apodiformes. Recorded adults weigh 35.8 g to 36.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the giant swiftlet

Weight
35.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
riverinesrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the giant swiftlet live?

Not recorded

What is the giant swiftlet?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The giant swiftlet (Hydrochous gigas), also known as the waterfall swift, is a species of bird in the swift family, Apodidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Hydrochous. It is found in Malaysia, Sumatra and Java, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and rivers. It may be threatened by habitat loss.

The giant swiftlet has the largest average wingspan of all the swiftlets, at 150 millimeters. It is a fairly large swift that can grow to 16 cm in length. The female weighs 35 to 39 grams, and the male around 37 grams.

Unlike other swiftlets, it builds its nest on a flat horizontal surface instead of molding it against a vertical surface with saliva.

It is not totally nocturnal, lacking the echolocation seen in some other swiftlets, but is still able to orientate visually in dim light.

From the Wikipedia article “Giant swiftlet” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Giant_swiftlet&oldid=1351738789), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the giant swiftlet endangered?

The giant swiftlet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the giant swiftlet classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderApodiformes
  5. familyApodidae
  6. genusHydrochous
  7. SpeciesHydrochous gigas (Hartert & A. L. Butler, 1901)

Synonyms Collocalia gigas, Hydrocharis gigas, Hydrochrous gigas, Hydrochrous gigas gigas, Hydrochrous gigas gigas

Other names and names in other languages (34)
  • Waterfall swiftEnglish
  • Waterfall swiftEnglish
  • سمامة الشلالArabic
  • salangana gegantCatalan
  • salangana vodopádováCzech
  • coblyn rhaeadrWelsh
  • KaskadesejlerDanish
  • RiesensalanganeGerman
  • Riesen-SalanganeGerman
  • giganta salanganoEsperanto
  • Salangana giganteSpanish
  • hiidsalangaanEstonian
  • isosalangaaniFinnish
  • Salangane géanteFrench
  • velika čiopicaCroatian
  • óriás-sarlósfecskeHungarian
  • Walet raksasaIndonesian
  • Rondone delle cascateItalian
  • オニアナツバメJapanese
  • didysis čiurlysLithuanian
  • Burung Layang-layang HantuMalay
  • ReuzensalangaanDutch
  • storsalanganNorwegian
  • salangana wielkaPolish
  • salangana-gigantePortuguese
  • andorinhão-gigantePortuguese
  • Большая саланганаRussian
  • Гигантская саланганаRussian
  • salangána vodopádováSlovak
  • Čiopa sa vodopadaSerbian
  • jättesalanganSwedish
  • Büyük YelyutanTurkish
  • салангана великаUkrainian
  • 瀑布雨燕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the giant swiftlet

Other species in the same family Apodidae.

CompareGiant swiftlet vs Common swiftGiant swiftlet vs Alpine swiftGiant swiftlet vs Pallid swiftGiant swiftlet vs White-throated needletail

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the giant swiftlet?

An adult giant swiftlet weighs 35.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the giant swiftlet endangered?

The giant swiftlet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the giant swiftlet?

The giant swiftlet (Hydrochous gigas) belongs to the family Apodidae in the order Apodiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Giant swiftlet (Hydrochous gigas). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/giant-swiftlet

MLA

“Giant swiftlet (Hydrochous gigas).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/giant-swiftlet.

BibTeX
@misc{giant_swiftlet_2026,
  title = {Giant swiftlet (Hydrochous gigas)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/giant-swiftlet},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}