[2][3] The Bornean swiftlet was described by the American ornithologist Charles Richmond in 1905 under current binomial name Collocalia dodgei.

The specific epithet dodgei is in honour of H. D. Dodge who had collected the specimen on Mount Kinabalu in Borneo.

[4][5] At about 10 cm in length it is a tiny swiftlet with relatively short wings and a square tail.

[6] Mainly glossy dark grey to black in colour, it has a white belly.

[1] It is seen mainly around the massif of Mount Kinabalu, though there is a record from the Maligan Range of south-central Sabah.