■ S '6 B I R 
nithopus. Bird’s-foot trefoil, feeLoru9. Bird’s- 
tongue, lee Senecio. 
BIRDS-KEY, or Round Island, a fmall illand or 
rock, among the Virginia I(lands, in theWeft Indies : two 
leagues from St. John’s Illand, and three north.ea(! from 
St. Croix. Lat. 17. 54. N. Ion. 64. 25. W. Greenwich. 
BIRD’S-NEST, f A repofitory wherein birds lodge 
their eggs for the purpofe of incubation ; and wherein, 
when hatched, they nurfe their young, till they become 
able to Ihift for themfelves. The conltrudlion of a bird’s- 
nelt is one of thofe daily miracles, which, from its fami¬ 
liarity, is palled over almolt without notice or regard. 
But, for the altonilhing fagacity, force of in Hindi, induf- 
try, and intelligence, of birds in building their nelts, fee 
■Ornithology. 
BIRDS-NESTS,/! in cookery, are eatable nelts, of a high 
and delicious flavour, conftrudled by the Javanefe fwallow, 
in the fummits of high mountains, in the cliff's of rocks, and 
in fubterranean caverns, &c. which are taken at Hated times 
by perfons employed in this trade, who fell them at a high 
price to fupply the tables of wealthy families in China, 
where they are conlidered as a great dainty. In the Trans¬ 
actions of the Batavian Society for promoting the Arts, 
vol.iii. are given the following particulars relative to the 
collecting and drelTing this curious'viand. 
Near Batavia, in the illand of Java, are two particular 
rocks, called bird-mountains, where thefe birds are found 
in great numbers. The firff, Calappa Nongal, lies about 
ten miles fouthwards from the city ; the other, Sampia, 
is a little more diftant towards the fouth-well; but they 
are both in that range of high land extending towards the 
lea, which is apparently different from the large ridge that 
extends over the whole illand. Befides thefe, there are 
alfo feverul other places in the fame diftrict, or at a greater 
diftance from the coaff, which either produce a few, or 
are carefully concealed by the Javanefe to whom they are 
known. Thefe two bird-mountains are infulated rocks, 
hollow within and pierced with a great number of Allures. 
Many of the fiflures are fo wide, that a perfon can enter 
them with eafe; others are attended with more difficulty; 
and fome of them are fo narrow, that nature evidently 
feems to have been defirous of providing for the fecurity 
of thefe little birds. On the outfide, thefe rocks are co¬ 
vered with a multitude of tall trees of various kinds.-The 
infide conliffs of grey calcareous Hone and white marble. 
To the fides of thefe caverns the birds affix their fmall 
neffsin horizontal rows, and fo clofe that for the moll part 
they adhere together. They conffruCt them at different 
heights, from 50 to 300 feet; fometimes higher or lower, 
according as they find room ; and no hole or conve¬ 
nient place, if dry and clean, is left unoccupied ; but, if 
the rocks be in the lead wet or moift, they immediately 
defert them. 
At day-break thefe birds fly abroad from their holes 
with a loud fluttering noife, and in the dry feafons rife fo 
high into the atmolphere in a moment, as they mull feek 
their food in dillant parts, that they are foon out of fight. 
In the rainy feafon, on the other hand, they never remove to 
a'great diffance from their holes, as has been often remark¬ 
ed, particularly in the government of Java, where there are 
fome rocks fituated very clofe to tire (bore. About four 
in the afternoon they again return, and confine themfelves 
fo clofely to their holes, that none of them are feen any 
more flying either out or in, but thofe which are hatching. 
They feed upon all forts of infedls which hover over the 
fiagnated water; and thefe they eafily catch, as they can 
extend their bills to a great width. They prepare their 
nefls from the flrongeft remains of the infedls on which 
they feed, and not of the feum of the fea, or fea plants, 
as has been erroneoufly alferted' by fome naturaliffs, asd 
thence propagated by others. The great difference in the 
colour and value of thefe nefls proves that their goodnefs 
depends merely on the fuperabundance and quality of the 
infedts on which they feed, and perhaps on the greater or 
jefs'folitude of the place where they feek for nourilhment. 
J3 I R 
Thofe found on the territory of Calappa Nongal and Gos- 
gadja are exceedingly grey, and worth one-third Id's than 
thole produced in the territory of Sampia ; anti the latter 
again are not to be compared with an excellent fort which 
are every year imported fromTernate and Pallier, or which 
are to be found on the furrounding illands, particularly to 
the ealt of Borneo. 
Thefe birds employ two months in preparing theirnefts; 
they then lay their eggs, on which they lit for fifteen or 
fix teen days. As foon as the young are fledged, people 
begin to colledt the'nefls, which is done regularly every 
four months; and this forms the harveff of the propri¬ 
etors of thefe bird-mountains. The bufinefs of taking 
the nelts is performed by men accuffomed from their youth 
to climb thefe rocks. They conftrudt ladders of reeds 
and bamboos, by which they are enabled to afeend to the 
holes ; they then enter into large and deep caverns by 
means of ropes. When they have got to the bottom of 
the caverns, they place bamboos with notches in them 
again!! the tides, in order to get up to the nells ; but, if 
they cannot reach them in this manner, they Hand on the 
ladders and pull the nefls down with poles of bamboo 
made for that purpofe. This employment, which is at¬ 
tended with great danger, coffs the lives of many people, 
and particularly of thieves, who attempt to rob thefe ca¬ 
verns in the night. For this reafon, fmall watch-houfes 
are every where built in the neighbourhood. 
The collecting of thefe nefts continues no longer than a 
month, and, as already mentioned, may be repeated three 
times in the year. Some believe that it may be done a 
fourth time ; but this is not probable, as all experienced 
people brought up to this employment confidently affert, 
that a neft as long as it remains entire is continually en¬ 
larged by-the bird, or made thicker, until it .is entirely 
deferted by her when it has become dry or hairy in the 
infide. When the nefts have been colledlcd, no farther 
trouble is necellary than to dry and clean them, after 
which they are put in bafkets, and fold to the Chinefe 
merchants. The price of them is variable, and depends 
on their vvhitenefs and finenefs. Some of them have a 
grey, and others a redd iff), appearance. Thofe of the bell 
fort are exceedingly fcarce. They are fold at the rate of 
from 800 to 1400 rix-dollars per 125 pounds. This high 
price, and the infatiable avarrice of the Chinefe, give rile 
to much dillionefly and thieving; efpecally as the Chinefe 
makes no ceremony of bribing the watchmen with money, 
opium, and cloths ; and this, even with the utmoft vigi¬ 
lance, cannot be entirely prevented! 
The two bird-mountains above mentioned, Calappa 
Nongal and Sampia, belonged formerly to the Dutch Eaft 
India company ; but as the advantages arifing from them 
were in part much leflened by the Javanefe, and in part 
not well underftood, the government refolved, in 1778, 
to fell them by auction to the higheft bidder, and received 
for them almoff a hundred thouland rix dollars, a film 
far exceeding what was generally expelled; although the 
enormous quantity of 2500 pounds weight of thefe neffs 
are collected every year in the illand of Java. The young 
birds are alfo eaten, botlt by the Javanefe and the Euro¬ 
peans in India, but it is difficult to procure them. They 
are conlidered to be very heating. The nefts, on the other 
hand, when they have been boiled to a llimy kind of foup, 
ex poled in the night-time to the dew, and being mixed 
with fugar, are exceedingly cooling. The Javanefe there¬ 
fore employ them in violent fevers. The author of this 
article favv alfo that, when prepared as above, they were 
preferibed for fore throats and hoarfenefs. This remedy, 
in all probability, has been borrowed from the Chinele, 
who ufually eat abundance of themduring the winter, be- 
canfe fore throats are then very common in the northern 
part of that extenfive kingdom, ori account of people fit¬ 
ting fo much over the fire. But this medical quality, fo 
much extolled, the author was not able to difeover, though 
he ufed a confiderable number of thefe nefts, prepared dif¬ 
ferent ways, in order to be convinced of the truth. He 
caufed 
