The edible-nest swiftlet was formally described in 1812 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg under the binomial name Hirundo fuciphaga based on a specimen collected on the island of Java.

[5][6][7][8] The edible-nest swiftlet, generally with a body length of 14 cm (5.5 in), is a medium-sized representative of the salangans.

[13] The edible-nest swiftlet feeds over a range of habitats from coastal areas to the mountains, occurring up to 2,800 metres above sea-level on Sumatra and Borneo.

[11] They breed in colonies in coastal areas, in limestone caves, in rock crevices, in a cleft in a cliff or sometimes on a building.

[11] They also emit a rattling call used for echolocation, which enables them to look for their nesting sites in the darkness of caves.

Some populations such as those in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been harvested extensively leading to them being considered critically threatened under the IUCN criteria.

[18] A detailed account of modern nest farming and marketing techniques is given by David Jordan (2004).

[19] In Indonesia and Malaysia, "farming" of nests is performed in purpose-built structures or old empty houses with "tweeters" playing recordings of bird calls on the roof to attract swiftlets.