Swiftlet bird
Collocalia fuciphaga
Ever heard of edible nests?
Read along to know about fascinating Swiftlets of the Islands.
These tiny beautiful birds nests in caves (Middle and North Andaman), and on the interior hills of the islands. Their nests are cup shaped and swiftlets build their nests of thick saliva which are edible.
These edible swiftlet nests have medicinal properties, they are believed to reinforce body fluids, nourish blood and moisten respiratory tract and skin. Soup made from these nest is considered to be tasty as well.
Collocalia fuciphaga is endemic to Andaman and Nicobar Islands makes it highly sought after as the nest is purely made of saliva thereby getting the name White Swiftlet, other species are there which build their nests an admixture of feathers and vegetation which are of low value.
These swiftlet nest soup is considered a rare delicacy.
These wholly edible white swiftlet nests are ranked one of the most expensive animal products in the world.
Their nest is often referred to as 'White Gold' and priced $4000 per kg!
This unique feature of bird is a major reason for it's decreasing number, the biggest predator of these birds being humans for it's nest. In India swiftlets does not receive protection by law under Indian Wildlife Protection Act(1972), however the Andaman government through Forest department and police also seize consignments for illegal trade offering protection to some extent.
But the best way to protect nests from poaching is to commercialise the sale so islanders can have some economic benefit and support in conserving swiftlet birds.
Fascinating fact
The swiftlets are the only diurnal birds possessing the ability to echolocate.(Oilbirds are yet another nocturnal bird having same ability.)
Swiftlets emerge from their roosting caves at dawn and return to these caves by echolocation (technique to determine location of objects by reflected sound) ability.
