Bird Nest - in Human Culture

In Human Culture

Many birds nest close to human habitations and some have been specially encouraged. Nesting White Storks have been protected and held in reverence in many cultures. Nest boxes are often used to encourage cavity nesting birds. The nesting of Peregrine Falcons on tall buildings has captured popular interest. Colonial breeders produce guano which is a valuable fertilizer. The saliva nest of the Edible-nest Swiftlet is used to make bird's nest soup, long considered a delicacy in China. Collection of the swiftlet nests is big business: in one year, more than 3.5 million nests were exported from Borneo to China, and the industry was estimated at $1 billion US per year (and increasing) in 2008. While the collection is regulated in some areas (at the Gomantong Caves, for example, where nests can be collected only from February to April or July to September), it is not in others, and the swiftlets are declining in areas where the harvest reaches unsustainable levels.

Some species of birds are also considered nuisances when they nest in the proximity of human habitations. Feral pigeons are often unwelcome and sometimes also considered as a health risk.

The Beijing National Stadium, principal venue of the 2008 Summer Olympics, has been nicknamed "The Bird Nest" because of its architectural design, which its designers likened to a bird's woven nest.

In the Victorian era, naturalists often collected bird's eggs and their nests. The study of bird nests is called caliology.