\nanimal.discovery.com
\nSwiftlet
\n Also known as Black-Nest and Edible-Nest (or White-Nest)
\n (Aerodramus maximus and Aerodramus fuciphagus)<\/p>\n
Order: Apodiformes
\n Family: Apodidae<\/p>\n
I. DESCRIPTION:
\n\t\u2022 \tThe swiftlet is a cave-dwelling bird.
\n\t\u2022 \tIt is dull brown or gray in color, and paler on the rump and underpart. Swiftlets grow to be 3 1\/2 to 6 inches long (the size of a sparrow), and weigh about half an ounce.
\n\t\u2022 \tSwiftlets fly lower, more slowly and more erratically than most swifts. They are small swifts, a family superficially similar to swallows, but with longer, more slender, scythe-like wings.
\nII. GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE AND HABITAT:
\n\t\u2022 \tSwiftlets inhabit Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
\n\t\u2022 \tThe live mostly in mountain or coastal caves, and sometimes open areas and towns.
\nIII. DIET:
\n\t\u2022 \tSwiftlets eat flying insects, which they catch in midair.
\nIV. LIFE CYCLE\/SOCIAL STRUCTURE:
\n\t\u2022 \tColonies may contain up to a million birds.
\n\t\u2022 \tSwiftlets breed in caves.
\n\t\u2022 \tDuring breeding season, a swiftlet’s salivary glands enlarge enormously, enabling the bird to produce the saliva that binds the nest, which takes approximately two months to construct and usually holds one egg.
\nV. SPECIAL NOTES\/ADAPTATIONS:
\n\t\u2022 \tCave-dwelling swiftlets are the only birds to use sonar in maneuvering through darkness. Its sonar consists of clicking sounds at frequencies of 1,500 to 5,500 hertz \u2014 audible to the human ear. The sounds are emitted at the rate of about six per second. (Swiftlets are the only true avian troglodytes \u2014 cave dwellers.) Not only can they navigate in total darkness, but they can find their own individual nest among hundreds of others.
\n\t\u2022 \tA swiftlet nest resembles a small bracket, sometimes containing bits of fern or bark. The male regurgitates a long, thin gelatinous strand from salivary glands under its tongue, which is then wound into a half-cup nest and bonds like quick-drying cement to the inside of a cave wall.
\nVI. EFFECT ON HABITAT:
\n\t\u2022 \tGuano deposited by swiftlets (and many species of bats) gives rise to a whole community of insects that draw energy from the guano and the corpses of the flying animals.
\nVII. POPULATION STATUS:
\n\t\u2022 \tThe rising price and demand for swiftlet nests for “bird’s nest soup” has resulted in a decline in the swiftlet population. In most nest-producing countries, swiftlet colonies are dwindling. It is argued that if harvesting continues at its current rate, the species may die out in five to 10 years. Since 1934, an ordinance in Sarawak permits the nests to be harvested only every 75 days. Similarly, in Sabah, only two harvests per year of the white-nest swiftlets are allowed.
\nVIII. SUBSPECIES:
\n\t\u2022 \tThe edible-nest swiftlet is also known as the white-nest swiftlet and the brown-rumped swiftlet. Its whitish-yellow nest is bound almost exclusively by saliva.
\n\t\u2022 \tThe black-nest swiftlet is larger than its 2-inch-deep, “half-saucer”-shaped nest \u2014 when it sits in the nest, it faces the cave wall, while its tail and long, folded wings stick out into the air. Its nest is made with saliva and feathers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
animal.discovery.com Swiftlet Also known as Black-Nest and Edible-Nest (or White-Nest) (Aerodramus maximus and Aerodramus fuciphagus) Order: Apodiformes Family: Apodidae I. DESCRIPTION: \u2022 The swiftlet is a cave-dwelling bird. \u2022 It is dull brown or gray in color, and paler on the rump and underpart. Swiftlets grow to be 3 1\/2 to 6 inches long (the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[413],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n