84 The Chimney Swift 



making an edible nest. It was thought for a long time 

 that the substance, used by the birds in the manufacture 

 of these nests, was chiefly seaweed, partly digested and 

 mixed with mucus from the salivary glands, but from 

 recent chemical analysis it has been proved beyond 

 doubt that it is mucus alone. There are some famous 

 swift taves in the northern part of Borneo, and I quote 

 the following from Mr. H. Pryer, who visited these 

 caves some time ago: 



"At the White Cave and others I saw the nest- 

 gatherers at work getting in their crop. A thin rattan 

 ladder was fixed to the end of a long pole and wedged 

 against the rocks. Two men were on the ladder; one 

 carried a long four-pronged spear, a lighted candle 

 being fixed to it a few inches below the prongs. By the 

 aid of this light a suitable nest is found, and transfixed 

 with the prongs; a shght twist detaches the nest un- 

 broken from the wall of the rock. The spear is then 

 passed within reach of the second man, who takes the 

 nest off the prongs and places it in a pouch carried at 

 the waist. The nests of best quahty are bound up into 

 packets with strips of rattan, the inferior being simply 

 threaded together, the best packets generally weigh 

 about one and a third pounds, averaging forty nests, 

 and are sold at nine dollars each. These caves have 

 been worked for seven generations without any diminu- 



