This image was selected as picture of the day on Wikimedia Commons for 27 November 2009. It was captioned as follows: English: Sabah State Mosque minaret in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (Borneo). Other languages:  Bosanski: Minaret džamije države Sabah, koja se nalazi na ostrvu Borneo, u Kota Kinbalu-u u Maleziji Čeština: Minaret mešity v Kota Kinabalu, hlavním městě malajského státu Sabah Dansk: Minaret på moskeen i hovedstaden Kota Kinabalu for delstaten Sabah på Borneo i Malaysia. Minareten huser en koloni Salanganer (ostindiske mursvaler). Deutsch: Minarett der Sabah State Mosque in Kota Kinabalu auf der Insel Borneo English: Sabah State Mosque minaret in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (Borneo). Esperanto: Grandigita vido de la minareto de moskeo en ŝtato Sabah en urbo Kota Kinabalu sur la insulo Borneo en Malajzio. Ĉirkaŭflugas la minareton birdoj, ŝajne apusetoj el specio Collocalia linchi. Español: Minarete de la Mezquita Estatal de Sabah en Kota Kinabalu, Malasia (Borneo). Français : Vue rapprochée du minaret de la mosquée de l'État de Sabah, à Kota Kinabalu, sur l'île de Bornéo en Malaisie. Le minaret sert de refuge à une colonie d'oiseaux, apparemment des Salanganes de Bornéo, une sous-espèce de Salangane des cavernes. Magyar: Minaret (Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malajzia, Borneó) Italiano: Sommità del minareto di una moschea di Kota Kinabalu, capitale dello stato malese di Sabah. Македонски: Минаре од џамија во Кота Кинбалу, Сабах, Малезија (Борнео). Nederlands: Close-up van de minaret van de moskee in Kota Kinabalu, de hoofdstad van de noordoostelijke Maleisische staat Sabah, in het noorden van het eiland Borneo. De minaret wordt gebruikt als schuilplaats door een vogelkolonie, waarschijnlijk een ondersoort van de linchi-dwergsalangaan (Collocalia linchi dodgei). Polski: Minaret Meczetu Stanu Sabah w Kota Kinabalu, Malezja Borneo. Português: Torre da Mesquita de Kota Kinabalu, Malásia. Русский: Минарет мечети в штате Сабах (Малайзия) 中文（简体）‎: 马来西亚亚庇沙巴州清真寺宣礼塔 中文（繁體）‎: 馬來西亞亞庇沙巴州清真寺宣禮塔

Summaryedit

Camera location	5° 57′ 33.01″ N, 116° 4′ 2.96″ E	View this and other nearby images on: Google Maps - Google Earth - OpenStreetMap	(Info)

5.95917;116.067488

Licensing:edit

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Photo's description:

This is a close-up of the Sabah State Mosque minaret in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (Borneo). It is also the home of a massive swift colony. In the photo they can be seen coming out to feed early in the morning. Tucked away in the crevices and corners of the minaret's wall several nests can be seen. I have identified the swifts in the photo as being "Bornean Swiftlets" (Collocalia dodgei). They seem to be a subspecies of the "Cave Swiftlet" (Collocalia linchi). Im by no means a bird expert, so I may be wrong. Feel free to change this information if you consider it to be inaccurate. I have used the body shape/colour as seen in this photo to identify the birds (I didnt get a very good look at them while I was there. They where far and moved quite fast!). And as you can see, not much detail can be seen there, so it hard to tell with any certainty. I also considered the location and the type of nest to reach my conclusion. I did have a closer look at one of the nests (unfortunately didn't photograph it) and as I can recall, it seem to be the type made of twigs held together buy hardened saliva. Some of the other swift species in the area make nests out of pure saliva (that are edible). Those are the nest form which the Chinese make "Bird Nest Soup". Français : Vue rapprochée du minaret de la mosquée de l'état de Sabah, à Kota Kinabalu, sur l'île de Bornéo en Malaisie. Le minaret sert de refuge à une colonie d'oiseaux, apparemment des Salanganes de Bornéo, une sous-espèce de Salangane des cavernes.