It is found on some eastern Indian Ocean islands, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and lowland Borneo.

The plume-toed swiftlet was described by the English ornithologist Robert Cecil Beavan in 1867 and given current binomial name Collocalia affinis.

[4][5] There are five subspecies:[5] The plume-toed swiftlet is 9–10 cm (3.5–3.9 in) in length with a square tail.

[6] The back and upper surface of the wings are uniformly dark greenish-blue with a moderate gloss.

This species lacks a pale contrasting rump and has no white spots on the inner webs of the tail feathers.