Summary

This episode is all about bird nests. There are tons of fun facts fun facts here, since nests are one of the more impressive aspects of bird behavior and breeding biology.

We’ll go over the functions of nests, the challenges that nesting birds face, nest site selection, the many types of nests, and nest construction.

That’s a lot to cover, but I’ll try to keep this at more of an overview level. This is sort of Bird Nests 101.

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Links of Interest

• Why a Hawk Is a Hummingbird’s Best Friend
• Time Lapse Video of Blue Tit Building a Nest
• BBC Video of Baya Weaver Nest Construction

Research Citations

• A review of the nest protection hypothesis: does inclusion of fresh green plant material in birds’ nests reduce parasite infestation?
• The adaptive significance of multiple nest building by male marsh wrens
• Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus post-glacial colonization and extreme long-term use of nest-sites in Greenland

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Photos of Some Species Mentioned

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Attributions

• Mourning Dove sounds (Xeno Canto recordings XC638304)
• Baya Weaver sounds (Xeno Canto recordings XC369462)