How Swiftlet Carried Out Nest Building !!!

This is something that we, birdfarm enthusiast, like to know.

I was reading Mr CK Lim " Swiftlets of Borneo" and came across this important decription that I wish to share with all my friends:

Nest Building:

Among all swiftlets, both sexes participate in nest building. This normally takes place at night when the birds are at roost. All edible-nest swiftlets build self supporting nests, attached to a vertical or concave surface of the cave wall, often within a nutaral small chamber, alcove or chimney. Nests may also rest on narrow ledges or protuberance.

The nest is constructed of thin, irregular laminae of the edible salivary material, merging into an expanded, curved zone of attachment by which it adheres to the supporting substrate. The attachment continues upwards on each side as a smooth extension, termed the hinge or foot of the nest.

A nest begins as layers of haphazardly deposited hinge. Subsequently, a low crescentic mound is build up, to form the basal attachment. The building process involves chewing and retching movements, during which the saliva is extruded from the open bill, and added to the nest. Freshly secretedsalivary nest-cement is soft and sticky but gradually dries and harderns when expoed to air. Layers upon layers of thin salivary laminae are added every day onto the base, which is extended as the rim of a progressively enlarging, small half cup shaped nest. The final shale of the nest reflects features such as the presence of a supporting rocky protrusion, the angle of slope of the supporting cave wall, or the proximity of other nests (which may merge into one day).

I am very happy to learn how these swiftlet built their nest.