‘Aphrodisiac’ nests under threat

HOI An is a beautiful town near the mouth of Vietnam’s Thu Bon River.

Among its temples and ornate ‘tube’ houses is a building with a large hand-painted sign over the entrance. The inscription is in Vietnamese, but an English translation is provided underneath: ‘Department of Managing and Gathering Swallows Nests’, it reads. The nests are on Cham Island which is 21km out in the South China Sea east of the town and the bird which makes them isn’t a swallow but a swift.

The little cup-like structures about the size of a hen’s egg are attached to the walls of caves. They are made from the bird’s saliva which solidifies as it dries. The ‘edible nest swiftlet’ makes its nest entirely from spit. Other swiftlet species incorporate some feathers in their structures.