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The edible-nest swiftlet (Collocalia fuciphaga) is the commonest swift on the Nilgiris. It is only about half the size of the species mentioned above, being less than 5 inches in length. In my opinion, this bird is misnamed the edible-nest swiftlet, because a considerable quantity of grass and feathers is worked into the nest, and I, for my part, find neither grass nor feathers edible. But chacun
The Collocalia fuciphaga appears to be pretty well distributed over the Malayan islands, but of these, Borneo and Java are the principal sources of supply. Nests are also exported from the Andaman Islands, and a revenue of £30,000 a year is said to be derived from the nests in the small islands in the inland sea of Tab Sab, inhabited by natives of Malay stock.
The nests are about the size of those of the ordinary swallow and are formed by innumerable hosts of swifts Collocalia fuciphaga entirely from a secretion of the glands of the throat. These swifts build in caves, some of which are of very large dimensions, and there are known to be some sixteen of them in different parts of British North Borneo.
The most important of the natural products gathered by the people are the edible nests of three species of swift: COLLOCALIA FUCIPHAGA, whose nest is white; C. LOWII, whose nest is blackish; and C. LINCHII, whose nest contains straw and moss as well as gelatine. All three kinds are collected, but those of the first kind are much more valuable than the others.
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