THE EDIBLE SWALLOW.' 



633 



When first made, these nests are very white and delicate in 

 their aspect, and in that condition are extremely valuable, being 

 sold at an extravagant price to the Chinese. They soon darken 

 by use and exposure, and are not fit for the purposes of the table 

 until they have been cleaned and bleached. 



These nests are found in Borneo, J'ava, etc., and are extremely 

 local, being confined to certain spots. The birds aWays choose 

 the sides of deep cavernous precipices, so that the task of obtain- 

 ing the nests is extremely dangerous. They are attached to the 

 perpendicular rocks much as the ordinary mud-built swallow- 

 nests, and are generally arranged in horizontal layers. The cav- 

 erns in which the nests are placed are extremely -valuable, and 

 are preserved with jealous care from any intruder. 



Edible Swallow. 



One of these nests in my own collection is shaped much like 

 one of the halves of a bivalve shell, and is thick at the base where 

 it was attached to the rock, diminishing toward the extremity. 

 On the outside- it has a very shelly appearance, being made in 

 regular layers, whose edges are as distinct as those- of the oyster- 

 shell but which have a double and not a single curve. In shape 



