The Chinese characters of "??" has been known by the Chinese for centuries, and people especially those riches love it and see it as one of the most precious tonic food they can have. 

Traditionally, the Chinese "??" only refers to those edible bird's nest. But today, the word of "swallow nest" becomes more and more popular. Can we really eat "swallow nest"? Maybe you can. But we're very positive that you don't want to eat it.

Most swallow lives in the northern part of our earth, commonly seen in China, India, Europe and North America. Instead of using saliva to build their nest, they use tiny tree branches, dry grass, or even mud to form their nest. Therefore, the popularity of "swallow nest" is either caused by the lack of knowledge or by trying to sell their imitated bird's nest. 

The ancient "??" shall be from today's Collocalia or commonly known as swiftlet (or walet in Indonesia), which can only be found in the tropical costal area. And the precious swiftlet nest is the only bird's nest constructed entirely from their saliva and is the only edible bird's nest beneficial to human body.

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