BIRDS THAT MAKE EDIBLE NESTS. 19 



spinnerets of the spider, against the rock that is to 

 serve as a support, and then going back a few steps 

 draws out a long, gummy thread, which dries and 

 hardens very rapidly. This she forms into a sort of 

 web by turning her head from side to side, making 

 the undulating lines that appear in these remarkable 

 structures. The process is continued until the nest has 

 attained the required shape and dimensions. When 

 completed it is about the size and shape of a quarter 

 of an eggshell of the domestic fowl, divided along 

 its entire length. There are two sorts, construct- 

 ed by two species of the bird. That of the true 

 esculent swallow called Salangene is as white and 

 clean and translucent as porcelain, and is very highly 

 valued ; that of the other species, called Kusappi, is 

 brown, and mixed with feathers, grass, and other for- 

 eign substances, and is but little esteemed. Mr. H. 

 Pryer gives the following account of the breeding 

 places and nests of the esculent swallow in northern 

 Borneo : 



" After a rest I ascended the cliff about four hun- 

 dred feet ; the ascent is quite perpendicular ; in many 

 places ladders are erected, and in others the water- 

 worn surface of the limesto'ne gives a foothold. At 

 this point I found myself at the mouth of a cave called 

 the White Cave ; the entrance is about forty feet high 

 by sixty feet wide, and descends very steeply, widen- 

 ing out to a great size, and having a perpendicular 

 unexplored abyss at its farthest point. This cave is 

 used by the nest gatherers as their dwelling place, and 

 at the entrance are their platforms of sticks, one of 



