White-rumped spinetail, Colva

Photo © Aidan Fonseca www.avocet-peregrine.com

I went for a walk this afternoon in the sweltering heat of Goa. Around 40°C and very humid, it certainly wasn't pleasant. However it did prove productive, especially when I reached what looked like a water tank just outside the village of Colva, where there were plenty of swifts and hirundines flying around most notably red-rumped swallows, wire-tailed swallows, little swifts and Indian swiftlets. 

Suddenly a small swift appeared with a white rump and a strange fluttering flight and it was a slightly odd shape for a swift. I could hardly believe that it was a white-rumped spinetail and tried to talk myself out of it. However, over the next hour or so I saw it again and a couple of times it was close enough to see the spines on the tail. A very exciting bird and a target species before the holiday.

I'm not sure exactly what the building in the centre of the photo is. On the map it's called Colva pump but I wondered if there was water in the top because lots of hirundines and swifts seemed to be flying in and landing briefly as if drinking.

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