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.