Aerodramus germani
Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The edible-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus), also known as the white-nest swiftlet, is a small bird of the swift family which is found in Southeast Asia. Its opaque and whitish nest is made exclusively of solidified saliva and is the main ingredient of bird's nest soup, a delicacy of Chinese cuisine. Germain's swiftlet (Aerodramus germani) is now treated as conspecific with this species.
The edible-nest swiftlet was formally described in 1812 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg under the binomial name Hirundo fuciphaga based on a specimen collected on the island of Java. The specific epithet fuciphaga combines the Ancient Greek φυκος/phukos meaning "seaweed" with -φαγος/-phagos meaning "-eating". The edible-nest swiftlet is now one of 25 swiftlets placed in the genus Aerodramus that was introduced in 1906 by the American ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser.
Eight subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ho Chi Minh City | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Bangkok | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Germain's Swiftlet sighting in Bangkok on a given day, based on 58 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 62nd most-seen of the 277 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Germain's Swiftlet in Bangkok on a given day, against under 5% in January, May and August, the lowest months. Those are among Bangkok's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 280 mm in September.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Germain's Swiftlet sightings, Bangkok ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Germain's Swiftlet is recorded against all the birds logged in Bangkok (58 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
