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White-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus)

Walet sarang-putih or edible-nest swiftlet or white-nest swiftlet or Collocalia fuciphaga (Aerodramus fuciphagus) are bird species in Apodidae, sexual monomorphism, small in size, insect eaters, have the ability to echolocate, have at least six subspecies and are most farmed.

A. fuciphagus has a size of 10-16 cm and wings are long, slender, slightly curved backward and the tip is tapered. The upper part is blackish brown and the lower part is brown. The tail is pale brown or gray or dark brown, the eyes are wide and iris dark brown, the beak and legs are black.

Dlium White-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus)

White-nest swiftlet has six subspecies: Aerodramus fuciphagus fuciphagus, Aerodramus fuciphagus dammermani, Aerodramus fuciphagus inexpectatus, Aerodramus fuciphagus micans, Aerodramus fuciphagus perplexus and Aerodramus fuciphagus vestitus.

Edible-nest swiftlet is able to do echolocation like bats by producing a certain frequency sound intermittently and then recapturing the reflection of the sound to determine the distance and location of an object.

Bats only produce low-frequency infrasonic sounds, but sounds by A. fuciphagus are capable of being heard by the human ears. This shrill sound is produced by an organ behind the throat called cyrinx.

This echolocation capability enables them to fly in dark places, find nests and detect prey. Echolocation of this swallow is also used to communicate and give warnings to other swiftlets not to approach the nest.

The legs are short and not strong so they cannot be used for walking and perching, but the wings have an efficient and strong ability where they fly without stopping for 12 hours to hunt and reproduce.



The white-nest swiftlet forages in the open at dawn and returns to the nest at dusk. In the morning the bird flies over a paddy field to snatch flying insects. During the day they fly to plantations and forests to look for insects between the trees.

Edible-nest swiftlet also often fly over lakes and rivers to grab insects on the surface of the water. In the afternoon returned to the fields and when it began to get dark they circled around the nest before resting.

The mating season in November-April when a pair of birds look for the place that is considered the safest to make a nest that will be built using saliva in a rock gap or cave. Males and females actively build nests that require up to 40 days.

Females lay 2 white eggs and incubate the female and male alternately for 13-15 days until the eggs hatch. The mother will feed the babies for up to 40 days and the swallow teenager is able to fly to find his own food.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Apodidae
Genus: Aerodramus
Species: A. fuciphagus

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