The Biology and Ecology of

Swiftlets

By
Dr. Laurentius N. Ambu, PhD Fcam
Director
Sabah Wildlife Department
 Table of Contents
1. Identification/Taxonomy
2. Distribution
3. Salivary Gland
4. Edible Birds Nests
5. Echolocation
6. Imprinting
7. Circadian Rhythm
8. Roosting Behaviour
9. Diet and Foraging Behaviour
 1. Identification/Taxonomy
There are two families of birds that resemble
the edible-nest swiftlets:-

(i) Family Hirundinidae

Common name: Swallows and Martins
(ii) Family Apodidae
Common name: Swifts and Swiftlets
 Glossy swiftlets
Collocalia

Sunda subregion swiftlets Linchi

Black-brown,
Aerodramus Black nest

White nest

Mossy nest

Giant swiftlet Bracket

Hydrochous vegetable
nest
The Scientific Classification of Swiftlets
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Subclass: Neornithes
Infraclass: Neognathae
(Unranked): Cypselomorphae
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Apodidae
Tribe: Collocalini
Genera
Aerodramus (28 spp.)
Collocalia (3 spp.)
Hydrochous (1 spp.)
Schoutedenapus (2 spp.)
Swallows share the skies with
swiftlets but are unrelated
 Identification
Swallows and Martins are easily
distinguishable from swifts by their broader
wings and slightly larger bills, much slower
flights and their habit of perching on electric
wires, television aerials or exposed perches
and rooftops.
Swallows and Martins will settle on the
ground to drink at pools to collect mud or clay
for their nests and occasionally to catch ants
and other kinds of insects.
Only Swallows and Martins perched
on electric wires, fences and other
exposed perches
 Martins

FAMILY HIRUNDINIDAE
Swallows and Martins
Martins collecting nest materials
 Identification..Continuation
They superficially resemble Swifts but their
flight is less fast.
Swallows glide with their wings half closed
unlike Swifts which glide with their sickle
wings fully extended.
They live exclusively on insects which they
catch while flying.
 Identification..Continuation
The nests of many species are made of mud
and built under the eaves of buildings, or in
barns, in close association with man.
Some nests of Martins are, however, found in
tunnels which they excavate in sandbanks or
ledges in crags.
The nests of Swallows are cup-shaped
structures of mud and clay.
 Identification..Continuation
Birds found in northern region are migratory
and assemble in large flocks before migrating.
Swallows and Martins are found virtually
everywhere except in New Zealand and Arctic
regions.
There are 76 species of Swallows in the world,
11 species of which are found in South-east
Asia.
 FAMILY APODIDAE
Swifts and Swiftlets

Old skin (1931)but still

shows dark (brown)
rump

FAMILY APODIDAE
White-nest Swiftlet from Gomantong
SWIFTS AND SWIFTLETS
Cave, Sabah Malaysia
 A colony of White Nest Swiftlet
(Aerodramus fuciphagus) in Gomantong Caves
Grey rumped or Germains Swiftlet
(Aerodramus germani)

Grey rump,
white dark
shaft
streaks
 Identification
a means without and poda means
legs Apodidae means a family of birds
without legs.
Actually, the birds of the Family Apodidae still
have legs but their legs have undergone
deformation. Because of the rudimentary legs,
these birds are easily distinguishable from
Swallows and Martins.
They are unable to stand or perch on electric
wires or exposed perches.
 Identification..Continuation
These birds are superficially similar to
swallows but their wings are longer, more
slender and scythe-like with noticeably
different wing strokes.
In flight, Swifts and Swiftlets beat their wings
rapidly to gain speed and height then they
descend in long fast glides.
 Identification..Continuation
Swifts and Swiftlets feed while they are on the
wing using the wide mouth to catch insects.
These birds fly throughout the day to forage
over distant areas, beginning early in the
morning and only return to the caves or man-
made houses in the evening.
 Identification..Continuation
They do not alight on their nests or some
places but grip with their sharp claws clinging
to their nests or nesting planks and they sleep
hanging on their claws.
The nests of some species of the Family
Apodidae consist of moss, grass, leaves of
trees and other vegetable material cemented
with saliva. Their nests are built in better lit
areas near the mouths of caves, rock crevices
or buildings.
 Identification..Continuation
There is a species of swiftlets which build their
nests from their saliva mixed with a
considerable proportion of feathers. This
species of swiftlets is commonly called Black-
nest Swiftlets.
 Identification..Continuation
Another species of swiftlets build nests which
consist entirely of hardened saliva. This
species of birds are popularly known as
Edible-nest Swiftlets.
 Identification..Continuation
Their valuable white nests are collected for
sale especially to make the well-known Birds
Nests Soup.
These birds build their nests in dark sites in
coastal rock crevices, caves or buildings.
They utilize a unique rattle (audible to human
ear) for echolocating which guides them to fly
in dark caves or rooms.
 Identification..Continuation

The scientific name of the white-nest swiftlet

is Aerodramus fuciphagus found in Sabah.
There are about 34 species of swiftlets in the
world, however only 2 species of swiftlets that
produced edible birds nests are recorded in
Sabah.
 Identification..Continuation
A. fuciphagus is about 12 cm in size and larger
than the Collocalia esculenta.
Dull, blackish brown upperparts with palish
grey or brown rump; slightly forked tail, the
fork is about 10 19% of the total tail length;
grey brown underparts.
Dark brown iris, black bill and black feet.
Unfeathered or slightly feathered tarsus.
 Naked (or lightly
Heavily feathered feathered) tarsus
tarsus = A. maximus =others
 The Swiftlets of Sabah
TOTAL WING WEIGHT (g)
LENGTH LENGTH
TAXON (mm) (mm) NOTE(S)
EDIBLE NESTS
GLOSSY SWIFTLETS (Collocalia)
1.White-bellied Swiftlet 90 - 100 98 - 112 7 - 12 A single feather tuft on the hind toe. Throughout Sabah,
widespread and common.
(Collocalia esculenta cyanoptila)
2. Kinabalu Swiftlet ~90 90 - 94 ? No tuft on hind toe. Three specimens shot over lower slopes of
Mt. Kinabalu, in 1904 and 1937.
(Collocalia (linchi) dodgei)
ECHOLOCATING SWIFTLETS (Aerodramus)
3a.White-nest Swiftlet Back, rump and tail uniformly dark blackish brown,
concealed white fluffy lateral vanes at feather bases in the
(Aerodramus fuciphagus vestitus) 110 - 120 110 -121 10 - 15 back plumage. Inland Sabah, more widespread.

*Dark-backed form
3b. White-nest Swiftlet Back and tail dark, rump paler with dark shaft streaks.
Islands and rocky coasts of West Sabah.
(A. fuciphagus amechanus) 110 -120 111 -118 _

*pale-rumped form
3c. White-nest Swiftlet _ Back and tail dark, rump slightly paler. Berhala island.

(A. fuciphagus perplexus) 110 -120 110 -120

*intermediate form
4. Black-nest Swiftlet 125 -130 125 -140 14 - 21 Back, rump and tail uniformly dark. Throughout most Sabah.

(A. maximus lowi)

INEDIBLE NESTS
5a. Mossy-nest Swiftlet 115 -125 118 - 129 12 - 15 Back, rump and tail all dark, with dark concealed bases to
feathers of the back. Throughout mainland Sabah.
(A. Salanganus natunae)
Waterfall Swift (=Giant Swiftlet) Sight records only, from coasts and interior hills of Sabah.
Vegetable nests, always built behind waterfalls.
(Hydrochous gigas) 160 157 - 162 36 - 46

Source: Adapted and modified from Koon and Cranbrook, 2002.

 2.Distribution Range

The world distribution and range of the

swiftlets extends from the western Indian
Ocean through southern continental Asia,
Indonesia, northern Australia and New
Guinea to islands of the west and south
Pacific.
The world distribution of the Swiftlets (Aerodramus spp. And Collocalia spp.) and the ranges
of the White-nest Swiftlet (A. fuciphagus) and the Black Nest Swiftlet (A. maxim's)

Source: Adapted from Koon and Cranbrook, 2000

World range of swiftlets: Indo-Pacific
Hawaii
Eastern
Himalayas
Diversity peaks

Sunda subregion

New Caledonia

Mascerenes
 Distribution range............continuation

In the South east Asian regions that produce

edible nests of high commercial values are in the
Andaman and Nicobar islands, Hainan Island in
China, Palawan Island in the Philippines, the coasts
and island of Vietnam, Cambodia Thailand,
Peninsular Burma (Myanmar), peninsular
Malaysia and Singapore, and the Indonesian
archipelago including Sumatra, Java and the Lesser
Sunda Islands and the multination of Borneo.
The distribution of the three species of edible-nest swiftlets in SouthEast Asian region
Whitenest Swiftlet (A. fuciphagus), Blacknest Swiftlet (A. maximus) and Glossy Swiftlets
(Collocalia spp.).

Source: Adapted from Koon and Cranbrook, 2000.

Distribution range............continuation
The present distribution of A. fuciphagus does
not seem to differ significantly from its past
distribution in areas where the latter has been
established (i.e. Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
Myanmar, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore,
Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Lesser Sunda Islands
and Philippines), although its range in Java
appears to be extended.
 Two species of white-nest swiftlets
A. g. hainaensis

Aerodramus germani

A. g. germani

A. g. inexpectatus
A. (f.) vestitus ??
A. (g.?) perplexus
A. f. vestitus

Aerodramus fuciphagus
A. f. fuciphagus

A. f. dammermanni
A. fuciphagus micans
DISTRIBUTION OF AERODRAMUS
SPP.
 Distribution range............continuation
In Sabah, there are 27 limestone caves systems
which are known to contain birds nests. The most
important caves in terms of production are
Gomantong, Madai and Batu Timbang Caves.
In Gomantong Caves, both the A. fuciphagus and A.
maximus are found in large numbers.
The Madai Caves contain large numbers of A.
maximus.
Batu Timbang Caves on the Upper Kuamut River
produces moderate numbers of A. fuciphagus and A.
maximus.
 Lower Kinabatangan
1. Gomantong
2. Materis
3. Panggi
4. Keruak
5. Bod Tai
24 6. Ulu Sungai Resang
7. Supu
8. Baladut
25 9. Batangan
26
27
Upper Kinabatangan & Interior
10. Batu Timbang, Ulu Kuamut
11. Melikop (Obang Obang)
12. Senobang
13. Lime Cave, Keningau
14. Batu Punggul
15. Pun Batu

23 Darvel Bay
16. Madai
17. Baturong
4 18. Tepadong
2 1 5
3 19. Segarong
6
7 9 20. Batu Pang
13 8
Semporna
11 18
21. Pulau Gaya (Bodgaya)
10 22. Pulau Si Amil
15 Sandakan
12 23. Pulau Berhala
17 16 21 Kudat & West Coast
14
20 19 24. Pulau Balembangan
25. Melobang
22 26. Batu Mandi
27. Pulau Mantanani
 3. SALIVARY GLANDS
Swiftlets use a glutinous secretion, the so-called nest
cement to bind together materials for nest building, or
construct a whole nest with it. The nest cement is secreted
from a pair of sublingual glands located beneath the
tongue.

This salivary nest cement is the commercially valuable

edible component that constitutes the basic ingredient of
birds nest soup an oriental gastronomic delicacy, and
undoubtedly one of the most expensive foods per unit
weight in the world.
 4. EDIBLE BIRDS NEST

The chemical composition of the nests

contained mainly proteins (50 - 60%),
Carbohydrates (25%), water(10%), small
amounts of calcium, phosphorous,
potassium, sulphur and possibly even
arsenic (Wang, 1921; Kang, 1984; Becking,
1985; Banks, 1986; Kang et al., 1991).
 5. ECHOLOCATION
One of the most distinctive features of swiftlets is their ability to echolocate.
Echolocation is a way of finding objects using sound instead of vision. The bird
makes a call and then listens for echoes from nearby objects. The length of time
before the echoes return, and the direction they come from, can tell the bird
where and how far away any objects are.

Echolocation affects swiftlets in many ways which are important to their biology
and management. Most significantly, it allows them to enter and nest in
completely dark caves where they are relatively safe from predators and sheltered
from outside weather conditions. They can also fly quite easily after dark and
often return to the caves several hours after sunset, allowing them to feed all day
far away from the caves. Possibly they even sometimes feed at night, but if they do,
echolocation would be the most useful only for avoiding obstacles. Further
reference account on echolocation among swiftlets, see also Cranbrook and
Medway (1965), Fullard et al. (1993), Medway (1959) and Suthers and Hector
(1982).
5. ECHOLOCATIONcontinuation

Animals use a combination of senses and techniques to find

their way in the surrounding environment. Certain species
of swiftlets possess the ability to echolocate, enabling them
to penetrate, orientate and navigate in total darkness of
true cave interiors.

Echolocation or sonar is a way of finding objects using

sound and its echoes. The directional and temporal
differences between the emission and the returning echo ca
detect where and how far any objects are.
 6.IMPRINTING BEHAVIOR

Imprinting is a homing behavior which

involves a process where the young will
come back to where they were born, or in
this case, hatched. The imprinting process
also happens in reptiles such as the marine
turtles. After fledging, it would take few
months before they would come back.
 7. Circadian Rythm

Circadian rhythm is a daily activity. All swiftlet exhibit a

similar pattern of daily activity. Studies in Indonesia have
shown that swiftlets use different areas at different
time of the day. The insects which inhabit a certain area
usually appear at certain times during the day. The
proportion of these areas determines the characteristics
of insects Which the birds need for food. In a day, swiftlets
forage for about:

6 hours in area (i) 0600hrs to 0900hrs &1500hrs to

1800hrs;
4 hours in area (ii) 0900hrs to 1300hrs ; and
2 hours in area (iii)1300hrs to 1500hrs
 Area of short plants
(50%)

Area of tall plants

(30%)

Area of water
bodies
(20%)
25 40km 25 40km
Microhabitat Macrohabitat
0600hrs
Natural Caves Area of
or short plants
Man-made Houses 1800hrs
(i) = 6 hrs
0600hrs 0900hrs

1500 hrs 1800hrs

Area of tall
plants
(ii) = 4 hrs
0900hrs 1300hrs

Area of water
bodies
(iii) = 2 hrs
1300hrs 1500hrs
 8. ROOSTING BEHAVIOR
Swiftlets are found in pairs at the nest site, which serves as
their night time roosting place at all times of the year. Each
pair normally clings side by side on the uneven surface of the
cave wall. When a nest is present, both sometimes cram inside
it, with heads and bodies pressed intimately together.
Sometimes, the other may squat by the edge of the nest, or
cling on the rock surface adjacent to the nest. Studies in
Sarawak suggested that that each pair is established in a
permanent roosting site. Even when their nest was removed,
the same swiftlets returned the same evening to the exact site,
suggesting that swiftlets have strong instinct towards nest site
fidelity, and are perhaps permanently paired.
 9. DIET AND FORAGING
BEHAVIOR
Swiftlets are aerial insectivores, which means they catch all
of their food (mainly insects) while they are flying. Studies
have shown that these birds consume about 1200 species of
insects. The most commonly caught insects were
Hymenoptera (wasps, ants, etc.), but a large numbers of
Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Homoptera (aphids,
leafhoppers, etc) and Diptera (flies). Ants and termites
account for 6% and 10%, respectively.

Swiftlets are designed for very efficient flight and fly

continuously when there are outside the caves. Studies
have suggested that swiftlets forage as far as 25 - 40 km
radius from their caves or house farm (Nugroho et al.,
2000).
THANK
YOU!