🪐 View in 3D Galaxy 📏 View on 3D Scale Stage

🧬 Biological Classification (Kingdom to Species)Aerodramus fuciphagus

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Apodiformes

Family

Apodidae

Genus

Aerodramus

Species

Aerodramus fuciphagus

Aves🥩 Carnivore

Edible-nest Swiftlet

Aerodramus fuciphagus (Edible-nest Swiftlet · ジャワアナツバメ)

🛡️ Conservation Status (IUCN Red List)LC (Least Concern)

DDData Deficient

LCLeast Concern

NTNear Threatened

VUVulnerable

ENEndangered

CRCritically End.

EWExtinct in Wild

EXExtinct

Geological Era

Extant

Diet

Carnivore

Length · Height

No data · No data

Mass · Top Speed

No data · No data

Habitat & Fossil Locality

Caves, crevices, and swiftlet farming buildings along coasts and inland areas of Southeast Asia, Hainan, northern Borneo, and the southern Philippines

💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed

💡 The nest made from this bird's saliva is the main ingredient of Chinese bird's nest soup and has been prized as a delicacy and tonic since the Tang dynasty (PMC review).
💡 One processed half-cup bird's nest sold on the market is about 7 cm long, about 4 cm high, and weighs about 5 g—about the weight of one Korean 100-won coin (about 5.4 g) (Comparison).

Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.

#흰집칼새#Aerodramus fuciphagus

📖 1. Overview

The Edible-nest Swiftlet is a small swiftlet common in Southeast Asia whose white nest made of saliva is prized as a culinary ingredient.

🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology

Its upperparts are dark grayish brown and its underparts are pale gray with a slightly paler rump. Because it looks almost identical to other swiftlets, the surest way to tell it apart is its translucent white, jelly-like cup nest attached to cave walls.

🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior

An insect-eating bird, it flies over fields and villages alone or in mixed flocks with other swiftlets and swallows. It builds its nest from saliva secreted by sublingual glands; whereas it once nested only in coastal limestone caves, it now also breeds in purpose-built swiftlet houses.