Nest boxes for White-throated Needletailed Swift Hirundapus caudacutus to promote conservation and support ecological research

Abstract

The provision of nest boxes to supplement naturally available nest sites can be an effective means of conserving cavity nesters. The White-throated Needletailed Swift Hirundapus caudacutus is a large, cavity-nesting swift. With reference to their natural nesting cavities in trees, we developed nest boxes for the species. Fourteen out of 20 nest boxes were used by needletails in 2017 and 2018 and monitored using nest cameras inside the boxes. Nest boxes were as successful as natural tree cavities in terms of the number of young reared.