A busyador or a swift nest collector is a person who harvests

edible bird's nest Edible bird's nests, also known as swallow nests ( zh, c=燕窝, p=yànwō), are bird nests created from solidified saliva by edible-nest swiftlets, Indian swiftlets and other swiftlets of the genera ''Aerodramus'', '' Hydrochous'', '' Scho ...

s (namely those created by

edible-nest swiftlet The edible-nest swiftlet (''Aerodramus fuciphagus''), also known as the white-nest swiftlet, is a small bird of the swift family which is found in Southeast Asia. Its opaque and whitish bird nest is made exclusively of solidified saliva and is t ...

s, or ''Aerodramus fuciphagus'') in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, and particularly in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The nests are made of the birds' solidified

saliva Saliva (commonly referred as spit or drool) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which ...

, and serve as the main ingredient of

bird's nest soup Edible bird's nests, also known as swallow nests ( zh, c=燕窝, p=yànwō), are bird nests created from solidified saliva by edible-nest swiftlets, Indian swiftlets and other swiftlets of the genera ''Aerodramus'', '' Hydrochous'', '' Schout ...

, a delicacy of Chinese cuisine. The practice of obtaining the swiftlet nests involves

tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of ...

the birds as they fly back to the

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

caves and holes—known locally as ''butas''—in which they build their nests, and scaling coastal cliffs to reach said nests, either without climbing aids or by using a system of climbing ropes or bamboo ladders and poles. The occupation has been described as "one of the most dangerous jobs in Asia", as it involves a near-constant risk of injury or death. Busyadors have also been reported to be subject to unfair working conditions, as well as

dispossession Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgage ...

from the caves in which they source the swiftlet nests.

References

Bibliography

Further reading