Edible-nest Swiftlet

Aerodramus fuciphagus (Thunberg, 1812)

≈12 cmLength11 gWeight

This small swift spends most of its life in the air, and its saliva-built nest is used in bird's nest soup.

Busiest months: December–March · Most records: Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Blackish-brown upperparts
Pale patch on the rump
Short, slightly notched tail
Long, narrow wings swept back into a crescent in flight

Voice

High-pitched, gurgling calls in breeding colonies, also continuous clucking for echolocation.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: December–March · Most records: Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia

Edible-nest Swiftlet has been recorded at 420 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 14 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Pak Thale Nature ReserveThailand1,388 records
Lat Krabang – Thap Yao paddies & aquaculture pondsThailand869 records
Phutthamonthon ParkThailand786 records

More places

Cat Tien NPVietnam741 records
Angkor WatCambodia738 records
Bang Pu – Recreation CenterThailand730 records
Benjakiti ParkThailand690 records
Khlong Tamru – 1 Alley salt pansThailand622 records
Sepilok – Rainforest Discovery CenterMalaysia590 records
Khao Dinsor (Khao Dinso) / Chumphon Raptor CenterThailand564 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Thailand Cambodia Malaysia Vietnam Indonesia Laos India Philippines

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

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 nest is made exclusively of solidified saliva and is the main ingredient of bird's nest soup, a delicacy of Chinese cuisine. Germain's swiftlet (Aerodramus germani) is now treated as conspecific with this species.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Edible-nest Swiftlet?

The Edible-nest Swiftlet is about ≈12 cm long and weighs around 11 g.

Where does the Edible-nest Swiftlet live?

Its breeding range: Oriental, Australasia: Andaman Islands to Southeast Asia, Lesser Sundas, Borneo and west-central, southwestern Philippines. It is most often recorded in Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia.