A bowl of sweet bird's nest soup garnished with watermelon balls at the Golden Island Bird's Nest Restaurant in Hong Kong. A tin of cleaned, dry bird's nests is in the foreground. The most sought-after nests, like these, are made entirely of secretions from the saliva gland of the brown-rumped, or edible-nest swiftlet, which nest high on cave walls, normally between 200 and 500 feet. The nests are highly regarded in Chinese cuisine, although almost tasteless, and can be cooked in several ways, but most typically as bird's nest soup..