Aerodramus fuciphagus
Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
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 | |
| 2 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Bali Barat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Tanjung Puting National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 6 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 7 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 8 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 9 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 10 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 11 | Komodo National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 12 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 13 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 14 | Bako National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 15 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 16 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 17 | Tangkoko Nature Reserve | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 18 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 19 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Đà Nẵng | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Phnom Penh | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | |
| 3 | Ho Chi Minh City | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 4 | Cần Thơ | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 5 | Bangkok | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Yangon | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | |
| 7 | Denpasar | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 8 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 9 | Hanoi | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 10 | Yogyakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-nest Swiftlet sighting in Kinabalu Park on a given day, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 172nd most-seen of the 247 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-nest Swiftlet in Kinabalu Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 1 and 4 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-nest Swiftlet sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
18th of 19
Of the 19 parks where we can rate White-nest Swiftlet sightings, Kinabalu Park ranks 18th at under 5%. The best odds are in Cat Tien National Park (Vietnam, about 60%), Khao Luang National Park (Thailand, about 50%) and Khao Sok National Park (Thailand, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-nest Swiftlet is recorded against all the birds logged in Kinabalu Park (25 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
