About Bird Nesting Habits

Different species of birds have different habits when it comes to their nest. The nest is primarily built for the purpose of laying eggs in it and then incubating them. While some types of birds will immediately abandon their nest once the young have hatched, others will raise their families in it year after year. The nesting habits of birds are dictated by such factors as the availability of materials, the region where the bird lives, and the habits of predators.

Significance

Birds decide on the location of their nest with the safety of themselves and their young in mind. Species like the barn swallow will nest in barns and sheds while cliff swallows will build theirs under bridges and the eaves of man-made structures. Pigeons and peregrine falcons nest on the ledges of skyscrapers in cities while birds such as crows and blue jays will construct their nest high in trees. Woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches use a hollowed out cavity in a tree as their nesting site. Some birds, such as whippoorwills and plovers, make no nest at all. They lay their eggs on the ground where they have scraped away debris and depend on their own protective coloration to avoid the eyes of predators.

Features

Birds will use materials of varied types to make their nest. Penguins usually use only a few stones for this purpose while birds like doves and pigeons will utilize sticks and twigs. Other species will make a nest with things like cobwebs, grasses, feathers, mosses, lichens, mud, rotted wood, and even strips of newspaper.

Types

There are quite a few types of bird nests. The simple nest will merely be a sort of platform made of sticks and twigs, with perhaps a small depressed area in the middle--just deep enough to keep an egg from rolling out. Cup shaped nests are more advanced architecturally speaking and are normally built in trees, often between branches. This is the most widespread type of nest and has an inside and an outside to it. Some cup-shaped nests are enclosed by an overhanging "roof." Mud is sometimes used to build this sort of nest, with species like flamingos utilizing it as well as swallows. Ospreys and owls will make a very large nest high in trees or on platforms provided by people, with sticks as the main resource for building.

Considerations

There are bird species that share the responsibility of building and maintaining a nest and others in which only one parent has this job. Many kinds of hummingbirds, for example, will have only the female as the nest builder and then incubator of the eggs, with the male having no part in the entire process. Mourning doves, on the other hand, will share this important function equally, with both male and female doves building the nest and then raising the young together. Species of birds such as the tufted titmouse depend on their own offspring to assist in these chores while the brown cowbird cannot be bothered to even build a nest. They simply lay their eggs in another bird's nest and let them raise their chicks.

Expert Insight

Endangered bird species, such as the eastern bluebird and osprey have benefitted greatly from humans, providing them with places to make their nest. Bluebirds were in steep competition for nesting sites with non-native species like starlings and house sparrows in the United States. Bluebird were losing the battle. Their numbers though have increased greatly in recent decades as people have built nesting boxes for them, which they use extensively. Ospreys were also seeing their population decrease but now they are a common site by rivers, lakes, and seashores where nesting platforms have been built for them to construct a nest on. Many kinds of ducks and songbirds use nesting boxes as well; they return each year to the same place and use the same box.

Resources

• The scoop on wild birds and feeders website
• Earthlife website