A swiftlet of the Philippines, it has white-edged rump feathers, with the extent of white varying between birds and regions.
White edges on the rump feathers form a pale band, which can be extensive or only faintly visible.
It eats insects and has been recorded in lowland evergreen forest on Mount Makiling, Luzon.
The Babuyan Islands subspecies septentrionalis has more extensive white underparts than the nominate form of central and southern Luzon and nearby islands.
Of seven Sibuyan specimens, five had extensive white on the rump and two showed only faint white.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.