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A group of swiftles which is widely distributed in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, mainly on islands, is responsible for the production of edible nests of commerce. Their habitats include rock shelters, caves and other cave-like situations including buildings, culverts and tunnels. The distribution of the swiftlets ranges from the Seychelles Islands in the west Indian Ocean to the east on Marquesas Island in the Pacific. They extend northwards from Himachal Pradesh, India to Szechuan, China and southwards on the Mauritius Island, to Queensland, Australia and New Caledonia.
Five species of swiftlets occur in Borneo and all of them are found in Sarawak. Of these, three species of the genus Aerodramus have the capacity to echolocate and navigate in darkness, while the other two genera (Hydrochous and Collocalia) lack this faculty. The giant swiftlets (H. gigas) is the largest of the swiftlets and constructs nest of plant material with little soft salivary cement. C. esculenta is the smallest of the swiftlets, and it typically builds plant nests under bridges and roof spaces of homes.
The mossy-nest swiftlets (A. vanikorensis) builds mossy nest with little cement. A. maximus is the only commercial black edible-nest builder. Its lower leg has a row of small feathers on the outer and inner side. The white edible-nest build by A. fuciphagus is found in caves and cliffs of offshore islands of Satang Besar, Pulau Lakei and in inland caves in Suai and Baram in Sarawak. It is also found in the Bay of Bengal, Haiphong (Vietnam), South East Palawan (Philippines) and the Lesser Sunda Islands (Indonesia).
The salivary cement of Aerodramus swiftlets’ nest constitute the basis of the famous Chinese cuisine since the sixteen century. Bird’s nest caves in Sarawak are mostly licensed to the families of their original owners although there are some sale of ownerships. The system of nest harvesting differs at different locations. The Sarawak Museum is charged with the licensing of the ownership and management of the bird’s nest caves. Population census of the swiftlets are carried out regularly to determine the level of nest production.
Bird’s Nest Caves
In Sarawak Bird’s nest caves are found throughout Sarawak. However most of the edible white-nests are found in caves in the coastal islands, Suai and Baram. The black-nest swiftlets on the other hand nest in limestone caves in Lundu, Bau, Lingga, Klingkang, Tatau, Tinjar, Dulit Range, Similajau, Niah, Subis, Mulu and Merapok. Most of the bird’s nest cave has a grant to the right of collecting bird’s nest as a form of licence since the early days. Today, birds’ nest licences are issued by the Sarawak Museum and Forest Department to the rightful owners.
