Endemic to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, this small swiftlet catches insects while flying over forest and settlements.
Its back is grey-green with weak gloss and dull-grey mottling. White feather edges form a scalloped pattern on the rump.
On Christmas Island it roosts and nests in caves, then takes insects and other aerial prey over forest, coastal terraces, and settlements.
The hind toe is unfeathered.
It has a slender body and a long, forked tail with elongated, diffuse white spots.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.