416 
EDIBLE NESTS. 
a viscous matter, probably saliva ; but 
so small and frail is the entire con- 
struction, that the mother-bird, not 
daring to ensconce herself in it, rests 
upon the branch, and but partially 
covers with her body the solitary egg 
which she deposits in it. 
EDIBLE NESTS. 
Coming next to the salanganes, we 
may remind the reader that theirs are 
the edible nests to which the Chinese 
are so partial. The most common species 
is the salangane proper, or esculent 
swallow, the Collocalia nidi/ica of 
naturalists ; a bird above six inches 
long, of grayish-brown plumage, with 
a touch of metallic green, and brownish 
black wings and tail. He is found in 
the Sunda Islands ; also in Ceylon, in 
Sikkim, and among the Nielgherries 
and the mountains of Assam. 
On the coasts of Java, these swal- 
lows may be seen skimming the waters 
with rapid wing, and seeking their food 
where the boiling waves break on the 
rocky reefs. Their flight is strong and 
swift ; and even in the shades of night they 
dart with arrow-like rapidity and certainty 
through the narrowest passages. In caverns 
which open to the ocean-roar, where the 
floor is often formed by the sea itself — the 
entrance is narrow, and at high water completely concealed by the 
rolling waves — they build their nests. They take advantage of the 
ebb or flow to issue from or enter into their wave-resounding home. 
TDE KLECKO SWALLOW. 
