The edible bird’s nest has been consumed by humans for centuries for its medicinal properties and health benefits. Traditionally,the dried gelatinous coating of the edible-nest swiftlet is boiled together with rock sugar and eaten as a delicacy. However,today, the edible bird’s nest has also been commercialised into health and cosmetic products. Despite the importance of theproduct, many questions remain within the nest builder, the edible-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus) specifically regardingtheir ecology and behaviour in nature. The ranging behaviour of the Aerodramus sp., and its foraging areas were studied inthe Kuala Langat district. The swiftlets were successfully tagged and tracked using vehicles. The research was conductedfrom March 2013 to July 2013. It was found that swiftlets had an average core area of 1687.06 ha (16.87 km²), a homerange size of 6437.47 ha (64.37 km²) and an average flying distance from their birdhouses which ranged from 2 to 6 km.They were mostly found roaming in open fields, young oil palm plantations and nearby forested areas. Pearson correlationanalysis showed that 50% of core feeding range areas and 95% of feeding range areas of the swiftlets correlated negativelywith wind velocity (mph) at r = 0.8057, P = 0.0287 and r = 0.820, P = 0.024, respectively. The average flying speed of theswiftlets correlated positively with wind velocity and the correlation was significant (r = 0.8423, P < 0.05).

Environmental conditions and biological rhythms can affect the behavioural routines of animals. However, the effect of lunar phase on individual roosting behaviour remains uninvestigated in most species. Here, we monitored the effect of lunar phase, sunset time, temperature, humidity and the breeding chronology on the roosting patterns of the Edible-Nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus) of the Andaman Islands, across breeding stages. Counts revealed that more than 98% of the population returned to the roosting caves during peak roosting hours, i.e. 1700–2000h. The proportion of birds roosting in caves was highest during the ‘new moon’ phase and when birds were at the nest-building and fledging stage of their breeding cycle. We confirmed that the variation in the roosting behaviour of the Edible-Nest Swiftlet is linked both to the stages in the breeding cycle and to the lunar phase. We hypothesise that the cause for the lunarphilic roosting pattern is an anti-predator strategy. Feeding habits and food requirements during different breeding stages are presumed to influence the roosting pattern of the species. An improved understanding of the association of the behaviour, physiology and the environmental conditions which influence these traits can only help us improve conservation outcomes for this economically important species.