A woman in southern China was stunned to find a huge bird’s nest that looked as if it has been years in the building while cleaning up the bathroom ceiling in her old house.

The woman, identified only by her surname as Ms Gui, said she and her husband accidentally found the nest when cleaning her hometown house in Changde, in Hunan Province.

She filmed the startling find and posted the video on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

Ms Gui said they discovered the giant bird’s nest after her husband accidentally took off a gusset.

The couple were positively stunned when they saw it and it looked as if it was probably added to each year, given the size.

Fortunately, the bird’s lair was vacant, with only one dried and empty egg remaining inside.

Ms Gui said: “The house in my hometown has been built 10 years ago, but I don’t go there often.

“This bird’s nest may have been there first when the house was built.

“The bird’s nest was big and thick. Afterwards, my husband took two days to clean it up.”

Netizens were also astonished by the couple’s discovery and poked fun at the bizarre situation.

User ‘For you guys’ commented: “Serious soundproof ceiling.”

Another user, ‘sauerkraut’ jokingly asked: “Did the bird pay the rent?”

And user ‘Plums are not talented’ said: “This is the ancestral home of the bird. I don’t know how many generations [lived there].”