Red nests are like a Bentley and do not come cheap, and the swiftlets that produce them sacrifice more than their saliva to keep the wheels turning in the multi-billion-baht bird's nest trade.
A picker climbs a bamboo ladder to collect nests inside a cave. PHOTOS BY AMNAT THONGDEE
Swiftlets' nests are a delicacy which are out of the reach of most people. The reason they fetch such a steep price lies in deep-rooted personal beliefs, according to food experts.
Especially significant is the belief, mainly among Chinese people, that birds' nests improve health and heighten longevity.
The explanation for the belief is that swiftlets never roost anywhere except in nests they have built themselves which they apparently consider to be pure as they are built using their own saliva.
The birds catch and feed on insects in flight and drink water as they swoop low over creeks and canals. They leave their nests before sunrise and return after sunset.
Beliefs aside, laboratory tests confirm bird's nests have a nutritional value equal to that of a chicken egg.
However, scientific findings have not weakened the conviction of heightened nutritional and medicinal value and longevity - not to mention raising the libido - as the nests continue to change hands at exorbitant prices; 50,000-70,000 baht per kilogramme for white nests and almost 100,000 baht per kilogramme for the so-called "crown jewel" - the red nest.
The red nests usually are the product of a third harvest for the year. Three to four times a year, the swiftlets discharge saliva to build a nest high inside a cave near the sea or on an island.
The islands blessed with birds' nests are designated concession zones and businesses bid for a concession which lasts five years.
In the southern province of Chumphon, the concession fee collected from all the birds' nest islands has reached 1.9 billion baht annually.
Swiftlets build nests using their own saliva on the wall of a cave on an island in Chumphon.
Concessionaires must also pay duties based on the weight of harvested nests.
But behind the impressive monetary figures is the reality that the birds literally shed blood to create their sought-after nests.
The nests are usually harvested three times a year. The first harvest - in late March, around 45 days after the nests are built - yields rather white-looking nests. The colour of the nest becomes greyish in the second collection around about a month later.
In the last harvest, the nests turn pink with clots of red in them. They are called red nests because of the blood stains from the birds' excessive discharge of saliva.
The birds build their nests well in advance in preparation for laying eggs. After a nest is collected in the first harvest, the birds quickly make a second one. When the second nest is removed, the birds race to build a third one as the time to lay eggs is fast approaching. By this time, the fluid discharge is so intense that some birds cough up blood mixed with the saliva, a source in the industry says.
The birds go on and build a fourth nest which is left uncollected so they can finally lay their eggs and propagate, the source said.
The red nests are rare and the demand for them is higher than for ordinary nests. Red nests taste better and produce a smoother, jelly-like texture.
The source said making a nest is a natural instinct and therefore harvesting is not harmful and has drawn no complaints from animal welfare protection groups.
Swiftlets' nests are harvested in the southern provinces of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Phatthalung, Krabi, Trang, Phangnga and Satun and the eastern province of Trat.
Rampant crime from the theft of birds' nests has been reported in Chumphon and Phatthalung.
China is the biggest market for birds' nests, which generate more than 3 billion baht per year on average for the country.
The high prices of the nests have increasingly encouraged robberies in recent years and concessionaires have to hire armed security guards to patrol the islands for months.
Fake red birds' nests have also found their way on to the market in China, dealing a heavy blow to Thailand's exports of the product.
Some of the bogus nests daubed with pale red dye are believed to have been produced in a neighbouring country and exported from Thailand to China. After Chinese officials detected nitrite from the dye, Beijing imposed a ban on birds' nests from Thailand.
Thai authorities now have joined Chinese officials to find ways to crack down on those dealing in fake nests. China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives are drafting regulations on Thai birds' nests destined for China. An agreement is expected in the near future.
Pending the signing, Phinij Jarusombat, president of the Thailand-China Cultural and Economic Association, has asked Chinese traders to buy the nests directly from Thai concessionaires.
Meanwhile, in Pak Phanang district of Nakhon Si Thammarat, some businesses have resorted to building artificial caves to attract the birds. They are basic concrete structures several stories high where the swiftlets can gather and build their nests.
The nesting houses, or "bird condos", have gone up in many areas of the South and some have been around for over a decade.
The building owners woo the swiftlets by installing water pipes to keep the nesting areas damp, shutting out the light to imitate a natural cave environment and playing the sound of birds chirping.
The ruse has worked and birds have been nesting in the buildings and generating a huge income for the owners.
However, the nests harvested from the buildings are not as thick and less expensive than those collected from the islands.
A small hut is built high above the ground for the security guards hired to protect a bird’s-nest island off the coast of Chumphon.
A prized bird’s nest. A kilo of the delicacy fetches steep prices ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 baht.
Birds’ nests are piled together after a harvest. They will then be separated according to different grades of quality.
Abird’s nest is cooked andmadeinto a soup.
Someof the birds’ nests aresold inboxes.