Indian Swiftlet

The Indian swiftlet, or Indian edible-nest swiftlet, is a small swift about 12cm long, dark brown above and paler brown below, with crescent-shaped, swept-back wings and a short tail that is only slightly notched. Males, females and young look alike. Like other swifts it has very short legs used only for clinging to vertical surfaces, and it never settles on the ground by choice (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is a common resident colonial breeder in the hills of south-west India and Sri Lanka. The male builds a white, shiny half-cup nest from thick saliva on a vertical surface, often in a cave, and two eggs are laid. The nests are harvested for bird's nest soup. It spends most of its life in the air, catching insects. SoIB 2023 treats it as endemic to the Indian subcontinent and resident in India with a moderate range, finds its trends uncertain, and rates it a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).