Bird's nest soup is a longtime mainstay of Chinese cuisine, and is considered a delicacy by many. But why does a bowl of this ...

When a swiftlet's cup-shaped nest is taken before it can lay eggs, the bird is forced to build another one. In the caves, collectors shimmy up bamboo poles lashed together with liana vines.

Swiftlet nests, made from the birds’ saliva, are the key ingredient in bird’s nest soup, an expensive delicacy believed by many Chinese to have health benefits.

When it comes to home-building, some birds put even the finest architects to shame. Their nests are not just shelters but ...

Due to a belief in the high medicinal value of bird's nest soup, heavy Chinese demand for swiftlet nests has resulted in a multibillion-dollar industry that may be endangering the bird.

Bird hotels in Indonesia try to attract swiftlets, whose edible nests are a delicacy in China. The swiftlet nests, made of dried saliva, are used to make bird's nest soup. Farmers compete to ...

Mallard ducks use their own feathers to insulate their nests. Hummingbirds lay small, white eggs approximately the size of jelly beans. Swiftlets build nests out of their saliva on cave walls and ...

BANGKOK -- Imagine for a moment that you are an edible-nest swiftlet. You are a dusky bird, tiny enough to fit in the palm of a hand. In southern Thailand, where you live, you soar above the ...

Michael Palin presents the black-nest swiftlet deep inside an Indonesian cavern. The Black-nest swiftlet landing on the cave wall, begins work on one of the most expensive and sought- after items ...

David Attenborough describes how swiftlets use just spittle to build their nests, how they do it in the dark, and how he doesn't much care for the nests in soup.

Swiftlet nests command a high price for the thick texture they give bird's nest soup. But how does one go about farming birds' nests? By building imposing concrete towers, of course.