Types of Bird's Nest

Edible nests are made of saliva of swiftlet, Feather Prime swiflet or Grass swiflet.

Varieties
Bird´s nests sold on the market include natural bird´s nest cups, strips, threads, crumbles and scattered pieces processed into cakes of different shapes. There are three major types:    
                                            

Edible-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus

LC

Edible-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus

Justification
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J.; Collar, N. J.; Christie, D. A.; Elliott, A.; Fishpool, L. D. C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International.

Taxonomic note
Aerodramus fuciphagus (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) was previously placed in the genus Collocalia and split as C. fuciphaga and C. germani following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

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Map data ©2016 Google

Population justification
The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is reported to be abundant in suitable habitat (del Hoyo et al. 1999).

Trend justification
The population is suspected to be in decline owing to over harvesting of eggs and nestlings (del Hoyo et al. 1999).

References
del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. 1999. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 5: Barn-owls to Hummingbirds. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.1). Available at:http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 19 June 2012).

Further web sources of information
Explore HBW Alive for further information on this species

Search for photos and videos, and hear sounds of this species from the Internet Bird Collection

Text account compilers
Butchart, S., Ekstrom, J., Symes, A. & Taylor, J.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2016) Species factsheet: Aerodramus fuciphagus. Downloaded fromhttp://www.birdlife.org on 18/02/2016. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2016) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.orgon 18/02/2016.

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.

bird nest in other languages

malaysian Sarang Walet

sources

1. Earl of Cranbrook 1984. Report on the birds' nest industry in the Baram District and at Niah, Sarawak. Sarawak Museum Journal 33: 145–170.
2. Earl of Cranbrook and Lim C.K. 1999. Cave swiftlets. In: Smythies B.E. (ed) The Birds of Borneo. 4th edn. Natural History Publications, Borneo, Kota Kinabalu, pp. 75–102.
3. Francis C.M. 1987. The Management of Edible Bird's Nest Caves in Sabah. Sabah Forest Department, Wildlife Section, Sabah.
4. Good L.K. 1993. The status of the black-nest swiftlet at Niah. Tiger Paper 20: 15–18.
5. Harrisson T. 1956. The Bird Caves of Niah. Straits Times Annual 40–43.
6. Harrisson T. and Jamuh G. 1956. Niah: the oldest inhabitant remembers. Sarawak Museum Journal 7: 451–462.
7. Kang N., Hails C.J. and Sigurdsson J.B. 1991. Nest construction and egg-laying in ediblenest swiftlets Aerodramusspp. and the implications for harvesting. Ibis 133: 170–177.
8. Langham N. 1980. Breeding biology of the edible-nest swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus. Ibis 122: 447–461.
9. Leh C.M.U. 1993. A Guide to birds' Nest Caves and birds' Nests of Sarawak. The Sarawak Museum, Kuching, Malaysia.
10. Lim C.K. 1999. Sustainable management and conservation of the white-nest swiftlets of Sarawak. Hornbill 3: 74–85.
11. Lim C.K. 2000. Cave manager cum trader concept –a proposed co-management plan for communal edible bird's nest caves. Hornbill 4: 90–101.
12. Lim C.K. and Earl of Cranbrook 2002. Swiftlets of Borneo: Builders of Edible Nests. Natural History Publications, Borneo.
13. Marshall A.J. and Folley S.J. 1956. The origin of nest cement in edible-nest swiftlets (Collocalia spp). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 126: 383–389.
14. Medway L. 1957. birds' nest collecting. Sarawak Museum Journal 8: 252–260.
15. Medway L. 1962a. The swiftlets (Collocalia) of Niah Cave, Sarawak. Part I. Breeding biology. Ibis 104: 45–66.
16. Medway L. 1962b. The swiftlets (Collocalia) of Niah Cave, Sarawak. Part II. Ecology and regulation of breeding. Ibis 104: 228–245.
17. Medway L. 1963. The antiquity of trade in edible birds' nests. Federation Museums Journal 8: 36–47.
18. Murphy D. 2001. Weaving tiny nests and fortunes for Indonesians. The Christian Science Monitor 7: 10.
19. Nee K. and Guan L.P. 1993. Bird's nest soup: panacea or ill? Nature Watch 1: 15–18.
20. Nugroho E. and Whendrato I. 1996. The farming of edible-nest swiftlets in Indonesia. In: Technical Workshop on Conservation Priorities and Actions for Edible-nest Swiftlets, Surabaya, Indonesia, 4–7 November 1996. Eka Offset, Semarang.
21. Phach N.Q. and Voisin J. 1998. Influence of cave structure, microclimate and nest harvesting on the breeding of the white-nest swiftlet Collocalia fuciphaga germani in Vietnam. Ibis 140: 257–264.
22. Sandin B. 1958. Some Niah folklore and origins. Sarawak Museum Journal 8: 646–662.
23. Sankaran R. 2001. The status and conservation of the edible-nest swiftlet (Collocalia fuciphaga) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Biological Conservation 97: 283–294.
24. Sim L.K. 1997. Population census of edible nest swiftlets (Collocalia maxima) in the Niah Caves. Hornbill 1: 83–93.
25. Sims R.W. 1959. Edible birds' nests. New Biology 30: 47–58.
26. Tompkins D.M. 1999. Impact of nest-harvesting on the reproductive success of black-nest swiftlets Aerodramus maximus. Wildlife Biology 5: 33–36.
27. Waugh D.R. and HailsC.J. 1983. Foraging ecology of a tropical aerial feeding bird guild. Ibis 125: 200–217.
28. Yates S. 1992. The Nature of Borneo. Factson File, New York.

Aerodramus fuciphagus -Edible-nest swiftlet

http://maps.iucnredlist.org/map.html?id=60847684
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. Its diet consists of flying insects which are caught on the wing. It often feeds in large flocks with other species of swift and swallow.

It breeds in colonies in caves, in a cleft in a cliff or sometimes on a building. The bracket-shaped 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.

Breeding[edit]

The nest of many species is glued to a vertical surface with saliva, and the genus Aerodramus use only that substance, which is the basis for bird's nest soup. The eggs hatch after 19 to 23 days, and the young leave the nest after a further six to eight weeks. Both parents assist in raising the young.^[11]

Feeding[edit]

All swifts eat insects, ranging from aerial spiders, dragonflies, flies, ants, to aphids, wasps and bees. Some species, like the chimney swift, hunt with other bird species as well.

Most nests are built during the breeding season by the male swiftlet over a period of 35 days. They take the shape of a shallow cup stuck to the cave wall. The nests are composed of interwoven strands of salivary cement and contain high levels of calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium.^[19]

There are six subspecies of the edible-nest swiftlet:

• A. f. fuciphagus - The nominate subspecies found in Java,Bali and the western Lesser Sunda Islands
• A. f. inexpectatus - Andaman and Nicobar Islands, vagrant to Burma
• A. f. dammermani - Flores, known from only a single specimen
• A. f. micans - eastern Lesser Sundas (Sumba, Savu and Timor)
• A. f. vestitus - Sumatra and Borneo, sometimes considered to be a separate species, the brown-rumped swiftlet, Aerodramus vestitus (Lesson, 1843).
• A. f. perplexus - Maratua Archipelago off eastern Borneo

German'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.

bird nest cities and towns

Ko Lao Liang Taiisland, in southern Thailand, where bird nests are collected

Malaysian provinces of Sarawak and Sabah.

bird houses

usually reinforced concrete structures following the design of the Southeast Asian shop-house ("rumah toko"/"ruko").^[11] These nesting houses are normally found in urban areas near the sea, since the birds have a propensity to flock in such places. This has become an extraordinary industry, mainly based on a series of towns in the Indonesian Province of North Sumatra, which have been completely transformed by the activity.

bird nest prices

Hong Kong and the United States are the largest importers of these nests.^[6] 

In Hong Kong, a bowl of bird's nest soup would cost US$30 to US$100.^[2][6] 

A kilogram of white nest can cost up to US$2,000, 

a kilogram of red nests can cost up to US$10,000.

cave nests

The nests were formerly harvested from caves, principally the enormous limestone caves at Gomantongand Niah in Borneo

Nest-harvesting isn't an easy job for anyone. It takes skills and experience. During the peak season between February and May each year, gatherers clamber up trellises of bamboo and vines at sunrise, only descending at sundown. To keep their hands firmly on the trellises or bamboo scaffoldings, some times as high as 200-300 feet from the cave floor, they balance torchlight between their teeth to look for what they call “White Gold.” Their only tool is the three-pronged instrument called rada, which they believe that gods of the cave approved of and anointed. No harvesters would attempt to touch nests without rada.

One harvester can collect as many as 50 or 60 nests a day. Sometimes, like mountain climbers, the harvesters hammer metal poles into rocks and boulders to attach themselves to the cave walls. Many have died when a rotted bamboo pole or a boulder gave in under their weight, but such accidents never discouraged the surviving harvesters.

Swiftlets lose their homes three times a season. When their first nests are stolen, they rebuild them quickly on the same spots, only to lose them again even before they can produce their eggs. But when the third nests are built, most harvesters wait until the young birds are raised and gone, but some ruthless ones destroy them anyway, spilling eggs and sending the fledglings to the floor.

red nests

Natural red cave nests are often only found in limestone caves in a bird nest concession island in Thailand.

Harvesting of bird nest

The most heavily harvested nests are from the edible-nest swiftlet or white-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus) and the black-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus maximus).^[5] The white nests and the red nests are supposedly rich in nutrients, which are traditionally believed to provide health benefits.^[2]

Most nests are built during the breeding season by the male swiftlet over a period of 35 days. They take the shape of a shallow cup stuck to the cave wall. The nests are composed of interwoven strands ofsalivary cement. Both nests have high levels of calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium.^[3]

Natural birds' nests on the Thai island, Bird's Nest Island.

Hong Kong and the United States are the largest importers of these nests.^[6] In Hong Kong, a bowl of bird's nest soup would cost US$30 to US$100.^[2][6] A kilogram of white nest can cost up to US$2,000, and a kilogram of red nests can cost up to US$10,000. The white nests are commonly treated with a red pigment, but methods have been developed to determine an adulterated nest. Natural red cave nests are often only found in limestone caves in a bird nest concession island in Thailand.^[3]The high cost and demand has attracted counterfeiters, leading to the halt of Malaysian nest exports to China; the Malaysian government has undertaken to employ RFID technology to thwart counterfeiting by micro-chipping nests with details about harvesting, packaging and transport.^[7] Industrial quality-control techniques such as failure mode and effects analysis have been applied to edible bird's nest processing at nesting houses in Sarawak, Malaysia and reported by a research team in by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.^[8][9][10]

The nests were formerly harvested from caves, principally the enormous limestone caves at Gomantongand Niah in Borneo. With the escalation in demand these sources have been supplanted since the late 1990s by purpose-built nesting houses, usually reinforced concrete structures following the design of the Southeast Asian shop-house ("rumah toko"/"ruko").^[11] These nesting houses are normally found in urban areas near the sea, since the birds have a propensity to flock in such places. This has become an extraordinary industry, mainly based on a series of towns in the Indonesian Province of North Sumatra, which have been completely transformed by the activity. From there the nests are mostly exported to the markets in Hong Kong, which has become the centre of the world trade, though most of the final consumers are from mainland China. It has been estimated^{[citation needed]} that the products now account for 0.5% of the Indonesian GDP, equivalent to about a quarter of the country's fishing industry. The entire global industry is an estimated $5 billion.

bird nest cambodia

Nang Sothy, president of the Cambodia Bird’s Nest Federation

Sothy said Cambodia exports the raw edible bird’s nest, made from the saliva of Asian Swiftlet birds, for about $800 per kilogram to Vietnam and Thailand where it is then processed and sent to China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea. price for processed bird’s nest at $2,000

Ms. Chorda said her shop sells the nests for between $140 and $250 per 100 grams. In Cambodia, the nests are typically soaked in water for several hours before being stewed with rock sugar. The gelatinous mixture is then poured over ice and drunk out of a glass.

Cambodian Bird’s Nest Federation (CBNF)

But while swiftlet nests used to be collected in the wild, they are now generally farmed in multistory concrete structures dotted with tiny entryways. Birdsong is piped through speakers and artificial scents are sprayed throughout the building to attract the swiftlets and make them feel at home.

Mr. Sothy said once the CBNF gets off the ground, he expects the estimated 1,500 Cambodian nest farmers to export $50 million worth of nests to China annually. Currently, he said, the farmers collect about 1 ton of nests per month, selling for an average of $800 per kg.

“We can’t meet the domestic demand, so how can we export?” said Peter Chen, the owner of the shop that Ms. Chorda manages and a business partner of Mr. Kong Hav. The pair owns seven nest farms in Kampot province, Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh that, on a good month, together produce more than 50 kg of nests.

Ourn Seansonal, the owner of the Swiftlet Farm Consultancy, which manages two swiftlet farms and works with interested farmers to develop their own birdhouses

Mr. Seansonal said he studied construction of swiftlet farms for three years in Malaysia. The process, he said, is not as simple as building a concrete box with holes in it.

First, significant capital is required. The cost of building the simplest swiftlet farm is $100,000, he said. On top of that, another $20,000 is needed for equipment including speakers, humidifiers and observation cameras.

Farmers also need to understand swiftlet behavior in order to attract local populations to nest in the farms.

“The birds are like humans,” he said. “If I live in Phnom Penh and another person lives in Battambang, maybe we have a little different characteristics.”

Mr. Seansonal, whose farms in Sihanoukville and Kampot produce 4 to 5 kg of nests per month, also said that Cambodia’s nest industry is not nearly as big as Mr. Sothy and Mr. Kong Hav claim. He estimates there are between 500 and 700 farms in the country, producing up to 150 kg monthly.

Kumai - Indonesia's bird nest soup factory town

Welcome to Indonesia's bird nest soup factory town

By Joe BoyleBBC News

• 27 January 2011
 
• From the sectionAsia-Pacific

Image captionBirdhouses have come to dominate the skyline in Kumai

The tiny port of Kumai on the southern tip of Indonesian Borneo is a burgeoning trade centre in one of the world's most valuable animal products - the nests used for bird's nest soup.

Drab concrete buildings have sprouted up all across Kumai, towering above the traditional low-rise shop-houses.

It's like drinking a thick jelly-like soup

Ching-He Huang, Chinese food expert

The buildings have no windows - instead they have many tiny holes. They are in fact birdhouses, or more accurately, bird's nest factories.

Kumai's human population is about 20,000. Its population of swiftlets - the tiny birds whose nests are so valuable to the Chinese - must be 10 times that number.

They cover the sky, thrashing about and letting out screeches that are audible in every part of town.

The explosion in the bird population has come as an irritation to some in Kumai.

"The Chinese started building birdhouses here about 10 years ago," says a local park ranger.

"At first it was fine, but now it's taking over the whole town. The people don't have much of a say. Local politicians just let it happen."

Tasteless, but wholesome

The edible nests, which the birds make from their saliva, have been a part of Chinese cookery for more than 1,000 years.

Potage history

Image captionThe soup, both sweet and savoury, is eaten in countries from the US to the Philippines

• First eaten as a delicacy in the court of the Tang emperors (618-907)
• Widespread consumption by 15th Century, but was banned by Mao Zedong in 20th Century
• Fans dub the soup the "caviar of the east"
• Used largely as a thickener, can be simmered with sugar for a dessert, or cooked with meat for a savoury soup
• Reputedly boosts immune system, libido, improves complexion, relieves asthma

They can be used in sweet or savoury dishes.

Food writer and broadcaster Ching-He Huang says one way of preparing the nests is to slow cook them with rock sugar, allowing them to take on the flavours of other ingredients.

But she explains that the nests are revered for their reputed medicinal benefits and cultural importance rather than their flavour.

"Many Chinese women I know have it because the gelatinous texture of the bird's nest is said to be very good for maintaining youth - it's thought to help collagen production," she says.

"The sweet version is delicate. It's like drinking a thick jelly-like soup. It can be served as a dessert or on its own."

The dark damp caves of South East Asia's tropical regions provide the natural habitat for the swiftlets.

Indonesia has many such caves, and has a long history in the bird's nest trade. As far back as the 17th Century there are records of the trade in the archipelago.

For most of that time, the nests were collected from caves by skilled climbers using flimsy bamboo trellises.

Lucky charms

According to local legend, the practice of farming the birds in houses grew up accidentally several generations ago, when a local landowner in Sedayu, in East Java, left his house to go on the Hajj pilgrimage, says Ani Mardiastuti, from Bogor Agricultural University.

Image captionThe nests can fetch up to $3,000 a kilo

"He went to Hajj for several months, and some of his rooms were closed. When he came back from Hajj, he found that the swiftlets had been using his rooms for nesting," she says.

"Later on, he imitated the condition of the swiftlet room in other rooms, and he succeeded, so inventing the technique to farm the swiftlet."

Bird farmers are still notoriously secretive about how they attract the animals - but part of the method appears to be playing recordings of the swiftlets' song.

Reports abound of industrious Indonesians trying anything from lucky charms to casting spells in an effort to lure the birds into their buildings.

From caves, to cities

But for much of the 20th Century the trade was relatively small, and was dominated by traditional nest collectors.

China's authoritarian Communist ruler Mao Zedong denounced the soup as a decadent luxury, so almost the entire world market was in Hong Kong.

Image captionSwiftlets nest in dark caves, but increasingly they are enticed to birdhouses in cities

The soup only started to regain popularity on the mainland during the 1990s, but experts say it has now overtaken Hong Kong as Indonesia's main export market.

As demand has risen, concrete birdhouses have been erected throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and most recently Cambodia.

The birds have willingly moved to the cities, and the high-rise accommodation provided for them, complete with birdsong on the CD player.

Some environmentalists have warned that other species of swiftlets with less desirable nests may suffer, and have also expressed concern that the industry is entirely unregulated.

But for the swiftlets with edible nests (known as white-nest swiftlets), the industry's development is no bad thing, says Richard Thomas from the Oriental Bird Club.

"A lot of new habitats and breeding areas have been created, and there seems to be a good understanding that if you take the nests away too often, the birds will not build new ones," he says.

"Also, as the industry moves more into the cities and away from the caves, it allows the other bird populations to live undisturbed in their natural habitats."

The surge in demand has forced the prices up from about $400 (£250) a kilo (the equivalent of about 120 nests) in the mid-1990s to $3,000 a kilo for the highest quality nests on today's market.

Indonesia reportedly made $226m in 2009 from the industry, and dominates the world market.

So the birds are happy, Chinese foodies are happy, and most importantly, the taxman is happy. The complaints of locals may just be drowned out for the time being.