Bird's Nest Category

The Bird’s Nests are categorized into 2 types:

- Cave Bird's Nest

- House Bird's Nest

The Cave Bird's Nest

• Built by swiftlets in caves and it absorbs minerals from the cave.
• Yellowish in color.
• Much more solid compared to the House Bird’s Nest and does not break easily.
• Contains more impurities thus require longer time to clean.
• More delicious and can be stewed for longer hours.

The House Bird's Nest

• Built in swift hourses and used by swiftlets for breeding purposes.
• Nests are cared by the Swift Farmers and will be harvested once the young swiftlets leave the nest.
• Whitish in color.
• Higher in quality and has lesser impurities.
• Easily break and will dissolve into water after stewing for long time. (Stew 30-45 minutes for excellent taste.)
• These are the two main categories for bird's nest. However, it can also be further classified based on other elements such as edibility, features, quality, colour and etc.

To find out more about the types of bird's nest, view the image below:

Bird's Nest Category

Bird's Nest Grade

Bird’s Nests can be graded into 3 stages and each stage is segregated according to the order when the Bird’s Nest is harvested.

White Nest

• Can be collected early of the year (January to April)
• Bird’s Nest pieces are much more solid and thicker due to the high amount of saliva produced by Swiftlets during the raining season.
• The nest is made entirely from the Swiflet’s saliva.
• Much more pricey due to its superior quality.

Grass Nest

• This type of Bird’s Nests are usually seen during May to December.
• Leaves are collected and mixed with the Swiftlets’ saliva to form nests for the young swiftlets.
• (The climate change will reduce the Swiftlet’s food source and thus result to the decline of saliva productivity by Swiftlets).
• Requires thorough cleaning before being processed.
• Looks transparent, glossy and grayish in color.
• Price is much cheaper compared to White Nest as the glutinous strand only takes up 5-15% before being processed.

Feather Nest

• This type of Bird’s Nests are usually seen during May to December.
• Feathers are mixed with the Swiftlets’ saliva to form nests for the young swiftlets.
• Requires thorough cleaning before being processed.
• Looks glossy with a tinge of milky white colour.
• Price is much cheaper compared to White Nest as the glutinous strand only takes up 5-15% before being processed.

However, this grading may vary according to countries due to the difference in climate.