How do birds build their nests

The nest

A nest is the shelter that birds build; For laying eggs and hatching, and the materials used to build the nest vary, and they differ from one species to another, and the design and shape of the nest varies, but the goal of building nests with different characteristics is to provide protection for the chicks that will hatch from the eggs, and for the eggs itself. Therefore, birds are keen to line the nest with vegetable fibers, herbs, feathers, or animal fur, and in addition, the nest provides protection for the chicks from wind, rain, and sunlight, and most important of all, protection from predators; Therefore, birds are keen to camouflage and hide the nest, using materials available in the environment, such as: tree bark, lichens, and algae.

How birds build their nests

Birds build their nests in different ways and shapes, and among the types of bird nests are the following:

Scrape nests: it is one of the simplest types of nests that birds can build. It is just a deep cleft in the ground, in which birds may put some materials available in their environment, such as: stones, feathers, leaves, or shells, and the eggs may camouflage themselves. To protect it from predators, scraping nests are often built by birds whose chicks grow early and can quickly depend on themselves, including: ostriches, gulls, terns, grouse, beach birds, hawks, eagles, pheasants, quail, and quail And the night hawk, and others.

Burrow Nest: seabirds that live in cold regions build burrow nests. To protect their chicks from changes in the weather, and burrow nests are nests or burrows that birds dig using their beaks, or their feet in trees, or in the ground, and among the most famous birds that build burrow nest: puffins, shearwaters, lamotea, fluffs, and peaks, and others. The digging owl bird uses burrows that other birds build.

Cavity Nest (English: Cavity Nest): A small number of birds are able to dig a cavity in living or dead trees to lay eggs in them, and among these birds: woodpecker and nutcracker, as for the rest of the birds that use cavities, they prefer to search for natural cavities, Or cavities dug by other birds and migrated them, and among these birds: some types of ducks, owls, parrot, hornbill, and blue birds, as birds usually line the cavities with leaves, dried herbs, feathers, mosses, or furs; Provides protection for eggs and chicks.

Platform nests: Some types of birds build large flat nests, which they can use year after year, as more materials are added to them each year, and these nests may be built on top of trees, on the ground, or on accumulated debris On shallow waters, and these huge nests may destroy trees in difficult weather conditions, and birds that build this type of nests: egrets, herons, eagle eagles, blacksmith pigeons, and many birds of prey.

Cup nest (English: Cup Nest): Some birds build their nests in the form of a cup deep enough to house eggs and chicks, usually made of herbs and branches that are held together by the bird's saliva, and from birds that build cup nests: hummingbirds, and birds The king known as the flytrap, sowbirds, viru, swallow, swordfish, and some songbirds.

Hill nest (English: Mound nest): The males of some types of birds build nests called hill nests, and the bird uses its feet and strong legs to collect the necessary materials and build the nest, and these nests are built from mud, sticks, tree branches, and their branches, and leaves, and when they start The organic materials in the parts of the trees by decomposition, producing sufficient heat to warm the eggs, and the chicks in a volatile atmosphere, and when the temperature in the nest reaches the required temperature, the female lays eggs in it, and the male continues to collect the materials; To maintain the size of the nest, and its temperature within the ideal temperature, and among the birds that build hillside nests: flamingos, some guinea fowls, and brush turkeys.

The hanging nest (in English: Pendant Nest): build some types of birds, including: the weaver, the oriole birds, the dates birds, and the casco birds nests that resemble bags, where they hang from the branches of trees, and the birds use in building these nests flexible materials such as: Herbs, and fine twigs.

Characteristics of bird nests

We often find bird nests while we go out on a walk, especially in rural areas, and sometimes these nests may be devoid of birds, chicks, or even eggs, and in all cases, the nests can be distinguished through the characteristics that distinguish them, including :

Nest location: different birds choose different places to build their nests; Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the nest location when trying to identify the type of bird that built the nest. It may be in the hollow of a tree, or on a rocky cliff, or on a small bush, or at the top of a tree, and the nest may be directly on the ground, for example, the wren bird can build its nest in unusual places, such as: a piece of clothing hung on a washing line Or a basket of flowers hung on a balcony.

Nest size: The size of the nest gives a general idea of ​​the size of the bird who built it; Large nests are usually built by large birds, but sometimes, small birds may build large nests if they lay a lot of eggs each time.

The shape of the nest: We mentioned previously the different shapes of the nests that birds build, as in addition to the shape, the nests that birds build differ in width, depth, and location of the nest hole. It could be at the top of the nest, on the side, or at the bottom.

Materials used to build the nest: Birds use a lot of materials to build nests and lining them, including: weeds, feathers, twigs, mosses, lichens, sticks, mud, pebbles, fur, litter, snake skin, spider silk, and even plant roots.

Construction method: birds differ in the way they build nests; Some birds build loose and random nests, while other birds build nests that appear to have been made based on a distinct engineering design, and some birds camouflage their nests. To protect the chicks.

Written by Sanaa Aldwikat

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