What You Need to Know about Swiftlets

Swiftlets are insectivorous birds classified within four genera viz. Aerodramus, Hydrochous, Schoutedenapus and Collocalia. They form the Collocaliini tribe within the swift family Apodiadate. There are around thirty species of swiftlets mostly confined to southern Asia, south Pacific islands and Northeastern Australia, both within the tropical and subtropical regions.

Generally, swiftlets have narrow wings for fast flight, in addition to a wide gape and small reduced beak surrounded by bristles for catching insects in flight. Nature has bestowed swiftlets with the ability to use a simple and effective echolocation to traverse in complete darkness through the crevasses and channels of caves where they stay at night and breed.
Swiftlets are very aerial species of birds and spend much part of their life spans on their wings. They often fly at high speeds which is assisted by the morphology of their sickle-shaped wings. They have very small feet as is suggested by their family name Apodidae (meaning “feetless”) and are therefore, unable to perch. However, their tail feathers are modified which helps them to land on move on vertical surfaces. The plumage of swiftlets is either dull black or brown, whereas white or grey patches are found in some species, in addition to brighter chest-reddish throats in some others.

What You Need to Know about Swiftlets

Scientifically, Blood Birds Nest refers to the nest of four species of swiftlets, namely Collocalia fuciphaga, Collocalia maxima, Collocalia germanis and Collocalia unicolor. Collocalioa Fuchiphaga and Collocalia germanis produce nests of pure saliva and thus called white nest swiftlets while the other two species produce nests with an admixture of feathers and vegetation, and are thus called black nest swiftlets.

Classification and Nomenclature

There has always been controversy regarding the taxonomy and phylogeny of swiftlets. Morphological and nest character in addition to the nature of prey, and echolocating ability have been used for the classification of swiftlets. All the swiftlets were placed into a single genus “Collocalia” by in 1840. Gray’s classification was used until the discovery of echolocation in swiftlets. Later on, Brooke split the genus Collocalia s.1 into three different genera, viz. non-echolocating Collocalia s.s., non-echolocating Hydrochous (comprised of the only giant swiftlet, Hydrochous gigas), and echolocating Aerodramus. However, in subsequent research works, different classification methods were used by different workers. All the above three genera were categorized into Collocalia s.1. By Chantler and Driessens and Salomonsen, whereas Chantler et al. And Sibley and Monroe divided swiftlets into two or three different genera. Most of the authors in the research papers on the investigations of the properties of Blood Birds Nest, did not disclose which swiftlet species were involved in nest building. The reason for non-disclosure of the identity of swiftlets is the inadequacy of the system of classification as none of the methods is distinctive without enough information to be reliable.
In order to remove the chaos about the taxonomy and phylogeny of swiftlets, several molecular biological studies have been carried out. Lee et al sequenced cytochrome-b DNA of swiftlets, however, it was only 506 bp portion and thus several questions remained unanswered. Later on, Thomassen et all sequenced the cytochrome-b gene completely. But, the position of Hydrochous was uncertain due to the high amount of variation in cytochrome-b. Two years later, Thomassen et all further added two sequences to their original dataset of cytochrome-b sequences for finding the solution to the problem. The two sequences included mitochondrial 12S rRNA (12S) and nuclear non-coding Fib 7. The two sequences were believed to evolve more conservatively than cytochrome-b. Besides, the authors also sequenced cytochrome-b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit-2 (ND2) mtDNA of two speciments of H. Gigas and found that H. Gigas is the sister-group of Aerodramnus, which supported monophyly of swiftlets. In the recent past, Lin et all extracted and sequenced DNA from Blood Birds Nest based on sequence of cytochrome-b gene in mtDNA. The authors successfully identified the genetic source of Blood Birds Nest and its products. It was observed that Aerodramus fuciphagus was the genetic source of Indonesian Blood Birds Nest. Despite the fact that advanced taxonomic methods have been developed, researchers often use the classification described in different times. More often EBNs are classified according to the place of origin. Until now, there are no standardized nomenclatures used for naming swiftlets as no consensus has been reached among the researchers on the issue.

Habitation and Geographic Range

Swiftlets are insectivorous birds that have a worldwide distribution except for the Arctic and Antartic regions. Swiftlets (Collocaliini tribe) are small swifts that are distributed over areas ranging from the Seychelles islands of the western Indian Ocean through southern continental Asia, Indonesia, Palawan in the Phillipines, northern Australia, New Guinea, and the islands in the south-west of Pacific. However, Blood Birds Nest producing swiftlets are only found in Southeast Asia, in the aves in Adamman and Nicobar Island, Phuket, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Indochina. The main commercial Blood Birds Nest producers include Indonesia (Sumatera, Java, Kalimantan and the Lesser Sunda Islands), Malaysia (including Sabah and Sarawak), Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. Some Blood Birds Nest producing Blood Birds Nest colonies have also been found in Hainan Island in China and Andaman and Nicobar Island in the Indian Ocean. However, the produce of Blood Birds Nest in these regions is relatively very insignificant.
In eastern Malaysia, raw Blood Birds Nest is sourced from the caves of Madai and Gomantong in Sabah, the Niah Caves in Miri, the Jade Mountains of Baram and Dragon Mountains in Tatau and Bintulu. The population of the cave swiftlets in Sarawak and Sabah is estimated to be approximately 2 million birds. In western Malaysia, the main areas of Blood Birds Nest cultivation are Sitiawan, Teluk Intan, Kota Bahru, Kuala Terengganu, Parit Buntar, Bukit Mertajam, Nibong Tebal, Kuantan, Muar, Taiping and many other old townships. However, there is still lack of scientific approaches to precisely estimate the number of birds in Malaysia especially in Sabah and Sarawak.

Health Benefits of Blood Birds Nest

Blood Birds Nest has been an esteemed food tonic due to its highly evaluated function of being nutritious (water soluble protein, carbohydrate, iron, inorganic salt and fiber) and of medical benefit (anti-aging, anti-cancer and immunity-enhancing).

One of the major glyconutrients in Blood Birds Nest is sialic acid (9.0%). Sialic acids have beneficial effect on the neurological and intellectual of infants. As an excellent immune system moderator, sialic acid affects the flow resistance in mucus which in turn repels bacteria, viruses and other harmful microbes. In terms of nutritional contents, the main components of edible Blood Birds Nest includes water-soluble proteins, carbohydrate, trace elements such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium and potassium and amino acid which play a vital role in promoting body health.

The health benefits of Blood Birds Nest can be summarised as follows:

1. Improves Skin Complexion

This is the best known fact about Blood Birds Nest consumption. It is reputed to maintain youthfulness and improve skin complexion. Someone who consume Blood Birds Nest on a regular basis often radiates a clean and clear facial complexion.

2. Improves Body Immunity System

If you consume Blood Birds Nest on a long term and regular basis, it helps to improve general body well being. It strengthens every aspect of the body: bones, tissue and cells. Naturally, you will feel healthier. It energises the immune system and leaves you with lower risk of contracting any disease. Blood Birds Nests fortify the entire human immune system, making the weak and old stronger and improving the respiratory system in children and adult. Studies have shown that Blood Birds Nest is rich in epidermal growth factor(EGF). This substance is responsible for skin and tissue repair.

3. As a health supplement for Pregnant Women

Blood Birds Nest provides a rich source of nutrients for Pregnant Women and their unborn children (fetus). During the pregnancy or pre-natal period, eating Blood Birds Nest will help to strengthen the body of the pregnant woman. Women that consume Blood Birds Nest during pregnancy always recover faster and better after childbirth. Such women experience lesser or no loss of hair, become stronger, and experience better sleep after childbirth. The unborn child too also benefits from the Blood Birds Nests the mother consumes. Pregnant women that eat Blood Birds Nests give birth to healthier babies with beautiful and smoother skin.

4. A good supplement for growing children.

Blood Birds Nest contains proteins, amino acids and minerals that are essential for the healthy development of growing children. Regular consumption helps prevent colds and flus. By improving the function of the Lungs and Kidneys, Blood Birds Nest helps boost the body’s immune system and increase resistance to external environmental factors.

5. As a treatment for ailments

For many centuries, Blood Birds Nest has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for treating certain ailments. It is strongly recommended for the treatment of asthma, cold, cough. It is widely believed that Blood Birds Nest has anti-aging and anti-cancer properties.