Bird’s nest soup Bird’s nest soup is made from the nests of small birds called swiftlets (金丝雀) . Hunters take the nests from caves in South-East Asia. The nests are later washed and cooked in a kind of chicken soup. The soup is very popular throughout Asia, 1 it is often expensive to buy in restaurants. The problem is that if people do not do something, swiftlets will be threatened 2 extinction. That means that there will be 3 no more nests and no more bird’s nest soup. The swiftlets’ nests are often difficult to get. The hunters have to build tall bamboo ladders to reach the caves the nests are found. 4 the hunters are very careful, many fall and hurt themselves every year. 5 , it really a erous work. Professional hunters often take the nests before the birds lay their eggs. Therefore, the birds have time to build more nests 6 they have to raise their young. If the hunters leave those second nests alone, the birds are not effected. 7 , sometimes the hunters come after the birds lay their eggs, and throw the eggs or young birds onto the ground to die. 8 people stopped taking so many nests, the swiftlets would no longer be in er. Unfortunately, this is not likely 9 the nests have always been so valuable. 10 hundreds of years ago, swiftlets used to nest in other countries outside of South-East Asia. However, they are no longer in 11 there. Hunters are 12 blame for this. If hunters has taken fewer nests at that time, swiftlets would still be around in those countries today. We should always learn from the past. This is even more important 13 we think about the swiftlets, since many scientists believe chemicals in these nests could also be used to develop new medicines in the future. 14 we protect the swiftlets, another wonderful 15 will become extinct forever.