The Esculent Swallow is 
found In Java, and is a valuable 
and remarkable bird, as it produces 
the celebrated “ birds’ nests ” of 
which the Chinese are so fond 
when made into soup. 
These nests could hardly be 
that the hollow in which the eggs 
and young are intended to live, is ESCULENT SWALLOW. 
barely visible. They are always Collocdlia nidilca. 
placed against the face of a steep 
rock, generally upon the side of one of the tremendous caverns in Java and other 
places where these strange birds love to dwell. The men who procure the nests 
are lowered by ropes from above, and their occupation is always considered as 
perilous in the extreme. 
W T hile adhering to the rocks, or when gathered into baskets, the nests are not 
at all attractive in their aspect, and it is not until they have been carefully 
washed and cleansed, that they begin to show their structure, shining through 
its partially transparent substance.. The nests are of very different value, those 
which have been used in rearing a brood of young being comparatively low in 
price, while those which are quite new and nearly white, are held in uch 
esteem, that they are worth their weight in silver, When placed in water sand 
allowed to remain in soak, the nests, being made of a partially gelatinous 
substance, begin to soften and swell, and when thoroughly dressed, are said to 
bear some resemblance to rather stiff turtle fat. To European palates, however, 
they appear very insipid, and not worthy of the great value which is set upon 
them by the Chinese. 
The precise material of these nests is not clearly known. It is certainly 
animal substance to some extent, although certain vegetable matters, such as the 
gelatinous fuci or sea-weeds, may be admixed with it. Whatever may be the 
basis of the nutriment that forms these nests, it is clear that a very large portion 
of it is furnished by certain glands, which pour out a viscid secretion. 
recognised as specimens of bird 
architecture by any one who had 
not previously seen them, as they 
look much more like a set of 
sponges, corals, or fungi, than 
nests of birds. They are most 
irregular in shape, are fastened to 
each other, and are so rudely made, 
41 
