Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot for egg incubation and rearing young.
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself, such as the grassy cup nest of the American robin or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the Montezuma oropendola, that is too restrictive a definition. For some species, a nest is simply a shallow depression made in sand; for others, it is a burrow dug into the ground, a chamber drilled into a tree, an enormous rotting pile of vegetation and earth, a shelf made of dried saliva, or a mud dome with an entrance tunnel. The study of birds' nests is known as caliology or nidology.
- field
- Ornithology
- known_for
- Site where birds lay and incubate eggs and raise young
- types
- Scrape, cup, platform, burrow, mound, dome, hanging, crevice
- smallest_nest
- Some hummingbird nests, 2 cm across and 2–3 cm high
- largest_nest
- Dusky scrubfowl mounds over 11 m in diameter and nearly 5 m tall
Lore & Background
Not all bird species build nests. Some auks, including common murre, thick-billed murre and razorbill, lay eggs directly onto narrow rocky ledges. Their eggs are dramatically pointed at one end so they roll in a circle when disturbed, critical for survival as there are no nests to prevent rolling off cliffs. King penguins and emperor penguins tuck eggs and chicks between their feet and folds of skin on their lower bellies, allowing mobility; emperor penguins breed during the harshest Antarctic winter and form huge huddled masses to share body heat, with temperatures in the centre of tight groups up to 10 °C above ambient air.
Reader's Guide
Bird nests are diverse in form and function, ranging from simple scrapes in soil to elaborate woven structures and massive mounds. The simplest nest is the scrape, a shallow depression in soil or vegetation, sometimes lined with bits of vegetation, small stones, shell fragments or feathers. These materials help camouflage eggs, provide insulation, and prevent eggs from sinking into muddy or sandy soil. Eggs and young in scrape nests are more exposed to predators and elements; most ground-nesting species have precocial young that quickly leave the nest upon hatching. In cool climates, scrape depth is critical for egg survival, with lined nests reducing heat loss by up to 25%. In warm climates, scrapes are shallower and lined with non-vegetative material to allow convective cooling. Some species, such as magpies, have been observed building nests using anti-bird spikes, with some nests containing up to 1,500 metal spikes, forming a protective dome that deters predators. The study of nests, caliology or nidology, reveals how nest architecture is influenced by local topography and abiotic factors.
Did You Know?
- Some magpie nests contain up to 1,500 anti-bird spikes, used to form a protective dome.
- The smallest bird nests are made by some hummingbirds, measuring just 2 cm across and 2–3 cm high.
- Dusky scrubfowl nest mounds can exceed 11 m in diameter and stand nearly 5 m tall.
- Emperor penguins do not build nests; they tuck eggs between their feet and skin folds and form huddled masses to share body heat.
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