White-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 South-East Asia. Its opaque and whitish nest is made exclusively of solidified saliva and is the main ingredient of bird's nest soup, a delicacy of Chinese cuisine.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe 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 and feet are black. Legs are very short and tarsi are usually unfeathered or lightly feathered.
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.
This species is present in the Andamans, in the coasts of South-East Asia and in the Indonesian Archipelago. The range is quite extensive, but highly fragmented.
There are six subspecies of the edible-nest swiftlet:
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, coastal Vietnam and Cambodia, Hainan, northern Borneo and parts of the Philippines.
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 insects 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.
It breeds in colonies in coastal areas, in limestone caves, in rock crevices, in a cleft in a cliff or sometimes on a building. The bracket-shaped nest is built on a vertical surface and the long legs are used for clinging. These swifts never settle voluntarily on the ground. 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 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.
