The edible-nest swiftlet (''Aerodramus fuciphagus''), also known as the white-nest swiftlet, is a small
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
of the
swift
Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to:
* SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks
** SWIFT code
* Swift (programming language)
* Swift (bird), a family of birds
It may also refer to:
Organizations
* SWIFT, ...
family which is found in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
. Its opaque and whitish bird
nest
A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...
is made exclusively of solidified
saliva and is the main ingredient of
bird's nest soup
Edible bird's nests are bird nests created by edible-nest swiftlets, Indian swiftlets, and other swiftlets using solidified saliva, which are harvested for human consumption. They are particularly prized in Chinese culture due to their rarity ...
, a delicacy of Chinese cuisine.
[Chantler, Phil & Driessens, Gerald (2000) ''Swifts: A Guide to the Swifts and Treeswifts of the World'', 2nd ed., Pica Press, East Sussex ]
Description
![Balinsasayaw Couple](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Balinsasayaw_Couple.jpg)
The edible-nest swiftlet, generally with a body length of 14cm (5.5. in), is a medium-sized representative of the salangans.
[ The upper part of the slender body is blackish-brown; the under part of the body ranges in colour from white to blackish-brown. The tail is short and has a slight notch.][ The ]bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
and feet are black. Legs are very short and tarsi are usually unfeathered or lightly feathered.[ Allen Jeyarajasinga]
A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore
Oxford University Press.
It weighs 15 to 18 grams and the wings are long and narrow. In flight the swept-back wings resemble a crescent. [
The subspecies ''A. f. micans'' is paler and greyer while ''A. f. vestitus'' is darker with a rump that is less obviously paler.
]
Distribution and subspecies
This species is present in the Andamans
The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between the ...
, in the coasts of South-East Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
and in the Indonesian Archipelago
The islands of Indonesia, also known as the Indonesian Archipelago ( id, Kepulauan Indonesia) or Nusantara, may refer either to the islands comprising the country of Indonesia or to the geographical groups which include its islands.
History ...
.[ The range is quite extensive, but highly fragmented.][
There are six subspecies of the edible-nest swiftlet:
*''Aerodramus fuciphagus fuciphagus'' – The nominate subspecies found in ]Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
, Bali and the western Lesser Sunda Islands
*''Aerodramus fuciphagus inexpectatus'' – Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
, vagrant to Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
*''Aerodramus fuciphagus dammermani'' – Flores, known from only a single specimen
*''Aerodramus fuciphagus micans'' – eastern Lesser Sundas ( Sumba, Savu
Savu ( id, Sawu, also known as Sabu, Havu, and Hawu) is the largest of a group of three islands, situated midway between Sumba and Rote, west of Timor, in Indonesia's eastern province, East Nusa Tenggara. Ferries connect the islands to Waingapu ...
and Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...
)
*''Aerodramus fuciphagus vestitus'' – Sumatra and Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...
, sometimes considered to be a separate species, the brown-rumped swiftlet, ''Aerodramus vestitus'' (Lesson
A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one ...
, 1843).
*''Aerodramus fuciphagus perplexus'' – Maratua Archipelago off eastern Borneo
Germain's swiftlet (''Aerodramus germani''), with two subspecies ''germani'' and ''amechanus'', was formerly considered to be conspecific with the edible-nest swiftlet, but is now often considered to be a separate species. It occurs in the Malay Peninsula, central Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, coastal Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
, Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
, northern Borneo and parts of the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
Behavior
The edible-nest swiftlet feeds over a range of habitats from coastal areas to the mountains, occurring up to 2,800 metres above sea-level on Sumatra and Borneo. These birds generally occur above forests, the forest edge, but also in open country.[
These birds spend most of their lives in the air. Its diet consists of flying ]insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...
s which are caught on the wing. They also drink on the wing.[ They often feed in large flocks with other species of swiftlet and ]swallow
The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...
.[
It breeds in ]colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
in coastal areas, in limestone caves, in rock crevices, in a cleft in a cliff or sometimes on a building.[ The bracket-shaped ]nest
A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...
is built on a vertical surface and the long legs are used for clinging. These swifts never settle voluntarily on the ground.[Indian Swiftlets or Indian Edible-nest Swiftlets]
/ref> The nest is white and translucent and is made of layers of hardened saliva attached to the rock.
It measures about 6 cm across with a depth of 1.5 cm and a weight of about 14 grams. Two white, oval, non-glossy eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
are laid.[
At breeding colonies, the bird emits high-pitched and burbling calls.][ They also emit a rattling call used for echolocation, which enables them to look for their nesting sites in the darkness of caves.][
]
Threats and conservation
The nest used in bird's nest soup is composed entirely of saliva. The soup is made by soaking and steaming the nests in water. It is said to improve kidney health, reduce phlegm, and to be an aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocai ...
.[ The nests can fetch high prices and many colonies are harvested commercially.
Some populations such as those in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been harvested extensively leading to them being considered critically threatened under the IUCN criteria.][
The use of artificial bird houses is growing.] A detailed account of modern nest farming and marketing techniques is given by David Jordan (2004). [ Jordan, David, 200]
"Globalisation and Bird's Nest Soup"
International Development Planning Review, Volume 26, Number 1, Liverpool Unviversity Press 2004
In Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, "farming" of nests is performed in purpose-built structures or old empty houses with "tweeters" playing recordings of bird calls on the roof to attract swiftlets. In urban areas, such "bird houses" may be considered a nuisance by neighbours due to the loud bird calls and bird feces. [
]
References
Further reading
* MacKinnon, John & Phillipps, Karen (1993) ''A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali'', Oxford University Press, Oxford.
* Manchi, Shirish S.; Sankaran, Ravi (2010)
Foraging habits and habitat use by edible nest and glossy swiftlets in the Andsman Islands
The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 122 (2): 259–272. ISSN 1559-4491.
* Robson, Craig (2002) ''A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia'', New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd., London.
External links
*
*
Oriental Bird Images: Edible-nest Swiftlet
{{Authority control
edible-nest swiftlet
Birds of Southeast Asia
Cave birds
edible-nest swiftlet