The short-billed swiftlet is a small bird that often flies in groups over its habitat to hunt during the day. When flying, it often makes a "di-di-di-di" sound, singing while flying. The sound is monotonous and rapid, and it seems to be more chaotic. It mainly feeds on various moths and flying insects such as Hymenoptera and Diptera. It forages in the air and hunts while flying.
It is a summer migratory bird in Sichuan and Hubei. It is a resident bird in Guizhou, Yunnan, and Tibet. It appears in Sichuan in late March and early April, and begins to migrate southward in late September.
The breeding season is from May to July. It usually nests in caves on rock walls. The nest is shallow disc-shaped. It is mainly composed of moss and saliva. The saliva is used to glue these nesting materials together and fix them on the rock wall. The size of the nest is 9~9.4 cm in outer diameter, 6.3 cm in inner diameter, 3.7~4.5 cm in height, and 3.5 cm in depth. Each nest usually lays 2 eggs, and the size of the eggs is 22×14.5 mm.
Listed in the 2012 Red List of Threatened Species of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) ver 3.1 - Least Concern (LC).
Listed in the "List of Terrestrial Wildlife with Important Economic and Scientific Research Value under State Protection" issued by the State Forestry Administration of China on August 1, 2000.
