THE GAPERS. 1 19 



The earliest account of these nests is met with in Bontius, who tells us that " Large flocks of very 

 small birds of the Swallow kind come down during the breeding season, and settle upon the Chinese 

 coasts, where they swarm over the cliffs that overhang the sea. In these situations they build their 

 strange nests, forming them of fish spawn, which they collect from the shore. These nests are much 

 valued by the natives, who will often pay very large sums of money for them, in order to make them 

 into soup, which is considered a dainty." More modern investigators have been equally inaccurate in 

 their surmises, some pronouncing them to be constructed of the flesh of a kind of snail or worm, or a 

 peculiar species of sea-weed, gathered from the shore. Recent observations upon this interesting 

 point have, however, proved that all these explanations are incorrect, and we learn that these luxuries, 

 in which the Chinese so much delight, are formed of a secretion resembling saliva, drawn from under 

 the bird's own tongue. After a great variety of experiments as to its component parts, Marsden 

 pronounces that the material resembles a mixture of gelatine and white of egg, an opinion in 

 which Bernstein, who is a trustworthy authority on this disputed question, entirely coincides ; we 

 will, however, describe the nest of the Salangane before we give our readers the real secret of its 

 construction, as vouched for and described by the last-mentioned naturalist. The Salangane usually 

 builds in such deep and dark cavities that the observation of its proceedings as it fastens its small, 

 thin, gelatinous nest to the rock, is attended with great difficulty. This structure is in shape like 

 the quarter of an egg-shell, divided longitudinally along its entire length. Some of these nests are 

 white, some of a brown colour, and opinion differs considerably as to the reason of this variety ; we 

 ourselves believe it to depend on the age of the structure, as we have never seen a brown nest 

 occupied, but other authorities pronounce them to be the work of two distinct species. In the 

 markets the white nests command a very high price, while such as are dark are but little esteemed. 

 The two white eggs laid by the Salangane are deposited at the bottom of this remarkable gelatinous 

 receptacle, without any further preparation for their warmth or comfort. 



THE KUSAPPI. 

 The abode of the Kusappi (CoHocalia fuciphaga) is much more easy of access than that of its 

 congener above described, as it is either placed at the bottom of a hole, or affixed to the naked rock. 

 In shape it resembles that of the Salangane, but its walls are partially composed of stalks of plants, 

 horse-hair, and blades of grass, not woven, but cemented together with the aforesaid gelatinous 

 secretion, by which it is also attached to the surface of the cliff. The amount of the mucilaginous 

 substance used varies considerably, some nests being in great measure composed of it, whilst such 

 as are formed of very pliable extraneous materials are made to a certain extent without its aid. 

 Bernstein gives the following account of the process of building the nests of the Kusappi, and has 

 proved the accuracy of his statements by numberless experiments, having even drawn the slimy 

 thread himself from the bird's beak. " Shortly before the breeding season," says Bernstein, " the 

 glands beneath the tongue of these birds become unusually distended, and present the appearance 

 of two large swellings, which diminish considerably in size after the nest is completed. When about 

 to make the foundation of its future abode, the Kusappi presses its tongue against the rock that is 

 to serve for a support, and then, retiring a few paces, draws out a long gummy thread, which dries 

 with great rapidity ; this process is repeated, until a crescent-shaped mass is formed, and firmly 

 fastened to the stone. The bird then takes the blades of grass, or stalks of other plants, one after 

 another, from a heap it has already prepared, and cements them together by a similar operation, 

 producing, as it turns its head from side to side, in order to draw out its thread, the undulating 

 lines so frequently seen upon these remarkable structures, and this process is continued until the 

 nest has assumed the necessary dimensions." The Salangane's method of proceeding is essentially 



