When we think of a bird family the typical idea that comes to mind is a mother bird feeding her eager babies in a nest made of twigs and other earthly bits. Nests are used as a place for parent birds to store and nurture their babies. A warm safe bit of nature safe from predators, but do all birds make nests? This article looks into it.

Truth is, not all birds make nests. One bird that does not build a nest is the peregrine falcon. These animals rather lay their eggs in small depressions in gravel or soil or scraps they can find. Many falcons take this approach.

Do all birds make nests?

There are several hundred different species of birds roaming our planet, many of us think that birds all share the need and desire to make nests, but this isn’t the case.

There are several bird species who don’t bother to make nests, for example, the peregrine falcon. Like many types of falcons, these birds don’t need nests to lay their eggs in. These falcons will lay their eggs in small depressions usually made of gravel, the soil of a cliff edge or they will lay their eggs in scraps.

That being said, all birds have a need to have some form of a nest-like structure even if it isn’t made of twigs and foliage. Nests are needed to protect eggs and baby birds in their earliest days of life. Some birds even create nests as a part of their mating ritual.

What are the different types of bird nests?

You may have noticed that not all nests are the same. Just like how humans have different types of homes, birds also prefer different types of nests

The different types of bird nests include the cup, scrape, burrow, mound, cavity, platform, pendant, and sphere. The cup type nest is a hollow basket structure with a curved or wide opening. The scrape is a shallow small hole in the ground in the sand and or vegetation.

The burrow is a cave-like, deep, and shallow hole in the ground. A mound is made above ground in a bell-shape in the earth where eggs get buried. Cavity type nests are holes created in objects like hollowed out trees.

Platforms are a bird’s version of high-rises or penthouses, they are open-aired nests. Pendant nests are carefully and elaborately stitched together hanging nests from trees. Sphere nests are curvy structures that are created in trees and on the ground.

Why do birds build a nest and not use it?

Many birds build nests that they never use. There are a variety of reasons why a bird may never use a nest that they’ve worked so hard to build.

One reason for this is the sudden influx of predators in the area or inaccessibility to the nest that they made eg: in your garage.

Most birds prefer to nest close to their food source. If the food source moves or becomes scarce, they will abandon the nest and try again in another location.

Do birds use other bird nests?

Yes, they do, some birds like freeloading and thus occupy the nest of others. Why build when you can rent for free right? Migratory birds usually use other birds nests as a rest stop or stopover.

The reason they do this is that nest building is time-consuming for birds. It’s usually easier to repair and live in an already built nest than to build one yourself. Some birds will even lay their eggs in other birds nests.

Do birds come back to their nest if you touch it?

Most birds won’t abandon their homes because you’ve touched it but they will stay vigilant. They see humans as a predator and will sometimes move just to be safe. But they won’t simply give up on real-estate because you’ve touched it.

Conclusion

In conclusion, not all birds make nests, some will find other locations to hatch their eggs. There are a variety of different nests types that birds make.

Birds will build nests and not use them if there are predators in the area. A bird won’t abandon its nest if a human touches it. If it’s convenient a bird will use a nest that isn’t theirs.

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why do baby birds die in the nest?, Releasing baby birds back into the wild, a good or bad idea?, Do birds sleep in the same place every night?, Can pigeon eggs hatch without a mother on them?