Is Bird Nest Soup Illegal in the US? What to Do Now

Yes, in most realistic scenarios in the US, collecting bird nests to make soup is illegal under federal law, and that holds true whether you are harvesting from the wild, buying nests locally, or even just possessing them without a permit. The exact legal risk depends on what species is involved, whether the nest was active when taken, how it was sourced, and whether any commercial transaction happened. But the baseline answer is: if you are considering gathering wild bird nests in the US for food, stop and read this first. If you are wondering can expired bird nest be eaten, it is best to treat both the legality and the food-safety risks separately before you do anything.

Is It Illegal Nationwide? The Short Answer

For the vast majority of bird species in the US, yes, it is illegal at the federal level. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) covers not just birds themselves but also any part, nest, or egg, and even any product made from those materials. That language is intentionally broad. Possessing, selling, purchasing, bartering, transporting, importing, or exporting a migratory bird nest or egg without authorization is a federal violation, full stop. There is no general exemption for personal use, traditional food preparation, or small quantities. The law applies to individuals, businesses, organizations, and even state and local agencies.

The one narrow carve-out most people see cited online is for prompt removal of nests from the interior of buildings, which can be done without a permit in certain situations. That has nothing to do with collecting nests for soup. If your goal is food, that exception does not apply to you.

Federal Law: What the MBTA Actually Says

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act has been the backbone of US bird protection since 1918. It implements treaties with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia and covers most bird species you would encounter in North America. Under the MBTA, it is unlawful (without a permit issued by federal regulation) to pursue, hunt, take, capture, or kill any migratory bird or to attempt any of those actions. It is equally unlawful to possess, offer for sale, sell, barter, purchase, deliver for shipment, ship, transport, or receive any migratory bird, or any part, nest, egg, or product made from one.

USFWS enforces the MBTA and publishes detailed guidance through its Migratory Bird Permitting Handbook and a memorandum series called MBPM-2, which was updated in January 2025. The 2025 MBPM-2 memorandum specifically addresses authorizations for taking migratory bird nests and their contents, reinforcing that 'take' includes nest take. The term 'active nest' or 'in-use nest' matters legally: a nest is considered active from the time eggs are laid until fledged young are no longer dependent on it. Disturbing, removing, or possessing an active nest without authorization carries the heaviest enforcement risk.

USFWS authorized personnel (such as employees of the Office of Law Enforcement acting in their official duties) are exempt from needing a permit under 50 CFR § 21.12. That exemption does not extend to private citizens under any circumstances.

State and Local Laws Add More Risk

Federal law sets the floor, but states often go further. Florida, for example, explicitly prohibits the possession, sale, purchase, barter, transport, import, export, and collection of both active and inactive migratory bird nests (including those containing eggs or flightless young) without federal authorization. Maryland allows possession of nests or eggs only for scientific purposes, and only after obtaining both a federal permit and a state scientific certificate. Rhode Island defines an 'active nest' by regulation as one containing eggs or young, tightening enforcement around exactly the type of material someone making nest soup would be seeking.

The practical upshot: even if you somehow found a loophole in federal rules, your state almost certainly closes it. Enforcement varies by state, but possession of bird nests for food is the kind of activity that, if discovered, draws attention from both state wildlife officers and federal agents. It is not a gray area that tends to go unnoticed.

What 'Bird Nest Soup' Actually Means Matters Legally

The traditional dish known as bird's nest soup is made from the dried saliva nests of edible-nest swiftlets, a species farmed primarily in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. These are not US native birds. Commercially produced swiftlet nests are harvested from purpose-built farms, processed, and exported as a food product. This is the context behind most of the health and nutrition discussions you see, including questions about eating bird nest during pregnancy or whether cancer patients can eat bird nest. If you are asking whether you can eat bird nest during the first trimester, the same nutrition and safety concerns discussed for pregnancy still apply eating bird nest during pregnancy.

When someone in the US searches about bird nest soup legality, the legal situation splits into two very different scenarios: buying a packaged, commercially produced swiftlet nest product imported from Asia versus collecting nests from wild birds in the US. The first scenario is primarily a food safety and import regulation question (FDA oversight applies). The second scenario runs directly into the MBTA and state wildlife laws described above. Most people Googling this question are dealing with one of those two situations, and which one you are in changes everything.

When It Is Especially Illegal: High-Risk Situations

Some situations carry significantly higher legal and criminal exposure than others. These are the red flags that almost always put you clearly on the wrong side of the law:

• Taking or possessing nests from federally protected species with additional protections beyond the MBTA, such as bald eagles, golden eagles, or any species listed under the Endangered Species Act. These carry separate and much heavier penalties.
• Disturbing or removing an active nest containing eggs or flightless young. This is the highest-risk category under MBPM-2 guidance and state laws like Florida's and Rhode Island's.
• Any commercial transaction involving US wild bird nests or eggs, including buying, selling, bartering, or delivering for shipment. Commerce triggers federal enforcement much more reliably than simple possession.
• Transporting nests or eggs across state lines or importing them without documentation. This adds federal trafficking exposure on top of basic MBTA violations.
• Possessing nests or eggs that you cannot document were legally sourced. If you cannot prove the source, enforcement agencies will assume the worst.

The MBTA covers not just the nest itself but any 'product' made from a nest. In theory, a finished bowl of soup made from an illegally taken US wild bird nest could be considered a product under MBTA language, though enforcement at that stage is practically rare. The real enforcement risk is at the collection, possession, and transport stages.

Food Safety and Wildlife Health Risks You Should Know

Even setting aside the legality, consuming material collected from wild bird nests in the US carries genuine health risks. If you are also wondering whether a bird nest fern is edible, it is important to confirm the plant's safety before consuming it is bird nest fern edible. Bird nest fern also needs extra caution, because it can be poisonous depending on the plant and how it is handled is bird nest fern poisonous. Wild birds can carry Salmonella, and CDC research has documented human salmonellosis outbreaks linked directly to contact with wild songbirds and their environments. This is part of why white fungus vs bird nest comparisons matter, because contamination and mold risks can vary with the source material Salmonella. Handling nest material from the wild creates real exposure risk, particularly for anyone who is immunocompromised, pregnant, elderly, or very young.

Even commercially produced edible bird's nest products (the swiftlet-derived kind) have documented food safety concerns. Like most packaged foods, bird nest products can have an expiry date or best-before window that you should check before using. Peer-reviewed research has found heavy metal contamination including arsenic, lead, and cadmium as a significant concern in edible bird's nest samples from commercial sources. Frontiers-published research breaks down contamination categories into physical, microbiological, residual, and heavy-metal parameters, all of which have flagged issues in laboratory assessments of commercial nest products. If you are considering these products for health reasons, that contamination risk is worth weighing carefully, especially for vulnerable groups.

For wild-collected nests specifically, parasites, mites, and bacterial contamination are additional hazards beyond Salmonella. Bird nests are biological material that has been in direct contact with fecal matter, the environment, and whatever the parent birds have been eating. There is no safe way to handle wild nest material casually, and no preparation method that eliminates all risk.

What You Can Do Instead Right Now

If your interest is in traditional bird's nest soup as a cultural or culinary experience, the only legal and relatively safe path in the US is purchasing commercially produced, properly imported, and FDA-regulated swiftlet nest products from reputable retailers. These products come dried and packaged, are subject to FDA import oversight, and do not involve any interaction with US wild birds or their nests. Look for products with clear country-of-origin labeling, a listed manufacturer, and ideally third-party testing documentation for heavy metals and contaminants.

If your interest is in supporting birds and wildlife more broadly, the most effective thing you can do is support habitat rather than harvest from it. Putting up appropriate nest boxes for cavity-nesting species like bluebirds or chickadees, keeping feeders clean to prevent mold and Salmonella spread, and avoiding pesticides that reduce insect prey for insectivorous birds all make a real positive difference. None of these activities put you at legal or health risk.

If you found a nest that has been abandoned and you are curious about it, the safest and most responsible approach is to leave it where it is. Even abandoned nests are technically covered by the MBTA, and 'abandoned' is harder to prove than you might think. The USFWS defines a nest as active from egg-laying until fledged young are no longer dependent, which can be a surprisingly long window.

How to Check Your Specific Situation Fast

If you are genuinely uncertain about whether something you already have or are considering doing crosses a legal line, here is how to get a clear answer quickly:

1. Identify the species. If you know or can photograph what bird species the nest came from, that is the first and most critical piece of information. Protected species under the Endangered Species Act or Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act carry additional penalties beyond the MBTA baseline.
2. Document the source. Write down where and when the nest was found or obtained, whether it was active (contained eggs or young) at the time, and how it came into your possession. This documentation matters if you ever need to explain your situation to a wildlife officer.
3. Contact USFWS directly. For questions about what is or is not permitted, you can email the USFWS Office of Law Enforcement at [email protected] or call (703) 358-1949 during business hours. For reporting suspected violations by others, you can also email [email protected] or call 1-844-FWS-TIPS.
4. Contact your state wildlife agency. State wildlife agencies often have faster response times for local questions and can confirm whether your state has additional restrictions beyond federal law.
5. Check whether the product you are buying is a commercial import. If you are buying a packaged product, confirm it has FDA-compliant labeling, a country of origin (should be Southeast Asia for legitimate swiftlet nest products), and a commercial importer of record. If those details are missing, treat it as a red flag.
6. Look for red flags in how you obtained it. If someone sold you 'local' bird nests, gave them to you from a wild collection, or described harvesting them from a US location, stop using the product and seek legal guidance before doing anything else with it.

The bottom line is that USFWS agents are not going to show up because you bought a jar of dried swiftlet nest from an Asian grocery store. But if you are collecting, buying, selling, or transporting nests from wild birds in the US, you are in territory where federal wildlife law applies, penalties are real, and the fastest way to protect yourself is to ask the relevant agency directly before taking any action. The USFWS Office of Law Enforcement contact information above is the right starting point.