Bird nest

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For animal nests in general, see Nest. For other uses, see Bird's
nest.

Deep cup nest of the Great
Reed-warbler

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 Eurasian Blackbird,
or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the Montezuma
Oropendola or the Village Weaver—that is
too restrictive a definition. For some species, a nest is simply a shallow
depression made in sand; for others, it is the knot-hole left by a broken
branch, 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 smallest bird nests are those of some hummingbirds, tiny cups
which can be a mere 2 cm (0.79 in) across and 2–3 cm (0.79–1.2 in)
high.[1]
At the other extreme, some nest mounds built by the Dusky Scrubfowl measure
more than 11 m (36 ft) in diameter and stand nearly 5 m
(16 ft) tall.[2]

Not all species build nests. Some species lay their eggs directly on the
ground or rocky ledges, while brood parasites lay
theirs in the nests of other birds, letting unwitting "foster parents" do all
the work of rearing the young. Although nests are primarily used for breeding,
they may also be reused in the non-breeding season for roosting and some species
build special dormitory nests or roost nests (or
winter-nest) that are used only for roosting.[3]
Most birds build a new nest each year, though some refurbish their old nests.
The large eyries (or aeries) of some eagles are platform nests
that have been used and refurbished for several years.

In most species, the female does most or all of the nest construction, though
the male often helps.[4]
In some polygynous
species, however, the male does most or all of the nest building. The nest may
also form a part of the courtship display such as in bowerbirds and weaver birds.
The ability to choose and maintain good nest sites and build high quality nests
may be selected for by females in these species. In some species the young from
previous broods may also act as helpers for the
adults.

Contents

1 Nest types

1.1 Scrape

1.2 Mound

1.3 Burrow

1.4 Cavity

1.5 Cup

1.6 Saucer or
plate

1.7 Platform

1.8 Pendant

1.9 Sphere

2 Nest protection and
sanitation

3 Colonial
nesting

4 In human
culture

5 References

5.1 Notes

5.2 Cited
texts

6 External
links

[edit]
Nest types

Thick-billed Murres
lay their single eggs directly onto rock ledges.

Not every bird species builds or uses a nest. Some auks, for instance—including Common
Murre, Thick-billed Murre
and Razorbill—lay their eggs
directly onto the narrow rocky ledges they use as breeding sites.[5]
The eggs of these species are dramatically pointed at one end, so that they roll
in a circle when disturbed. This is critical for the survival of the developing
eggs, as there are no nests to keep them from rolling off the side of the cliff.
Presumably because of the vulnerability of their unprotected eggs, parent birds
of these auk species rarely leave them unattended.[6]
Nest location and architecture is strongly influenced by local topography and
other abiotic factors.[7]

King and Emperor Penguins also do
not build nests; instead, they tuck their eggs and chicks between their feet and
folds of skin on their lower bellies. They are thus able to move about while
incubating, though in practice only the Emperor Penguin regularly does so.
Emperor Penguins breed during the harshest months of the Antarctic winter, and their
mobility allows them to form huge huddled masses which help them to withstand
the extremely high winds and low temperatures of the season. Without the ability
to share body heat (temperatures in the center of tight groups can be as much as
10C above the ambient air temperature), the penguins would expend far more
energy trying to stay warm, and breeding attempts would probably fail.[8]

Some crevice-nesting species, including Ashy Storm-petrel, Pigeon Guillemot, Eurasian Eagle-Owl
and Hume's Tawny Owl, lay
their eggs in the relative shelter of a crevice in the rocks or a gap between
boulders, but provide no additional nest material.[9][10]
Potoos lay their
single egg directly atop a broken stump, or into a shallow depression on a
branch—typically where an upward-pointing branch died and fell off, leaving a
small scar or knot-hole.[11]
Brood parasites, such as
the New
World cowbirds, the honeyguides,
and many of the Old World and Australasian cuckoos, lay their
eggs in the active nests of other species.[12][13][14]

[edit]
Scrape

Some nest linings, such as the shell fragments in
this Charadrius plover scrape, may
help to prevent the eggs from sinking into muddy or sandy
soil.

The simplest nest construction is the scrape, which is merely a
shallow depression in soil or vegetation.[15]
This nest type, which typically has a rim deep enough to keep the eggs from
rolling away, is sometimes lined with bits of vegetation, small stones, shell fragments or feathers.[16]
These materials may help to camouflage the eggs or may provide some level of
insulation; they may also help to keep the eggs in place, and prevent them from
sinking into muddy or sandy soil if the nest is accidentally flooded.[17]
Ostriches, most
tinamous, many
ducks, most shorebirds, most terns, some falcons, pheasants, quail, partridges, bustards and sandgrouse are among the
species that build scrape nests.

Eggs and young in scrape nests, and the adults that brood them, are more
exposed to predators and the elements than
those in more sheltered nests; they are on the ground and typically in the open,
with little to hide them. The eggs of most ground-nesting birds (including those
that use scrape nests) are cryptically colored to help camouflage them when the
adult is not covering them; the actual color generally corresponds to the
substrate on which they are laid.[18]
Brooding adults also tend to be well camouflaged, and may be difficult to flush
from the nest. Most ground-nesting species have well-developed distraction
displays, which are used to draw (or drive) potential predators from the
area around the nest.[19]
Most species with this type of nest have precocial young, which quickly
leave the nest upon hatching.[20]

In cool climates (such as in the high Arctic or at high elevations),
the depth of a scrape nest can be critical to both the survival of developing
eggs and the fitness of the parent bird incubating them. The scrape must be deep
enough that eggs are protected from the convective cooling caused by
cold winds, but shallow enough that they and the parent bird are not too exposed
to the cooling influences of ground temperatures, particularly where the permafrost
layer rises to mere centimeters below the nest. Studies have shown that an egg
within a scrape nest loses heat 9% more slowly than an egg placed on the ground
beside the nest; in such a nest lined with natural vegetation, heat loss is
reduced by an additional 25%.[21]
The insulating factor of nest lining is apparently so critical to egg survival
that some species, including Kentish Plovers, will
restore experimentally altered levels of insulation to their pre-adjustment
levels (adding or subtracting material as necessary) within 24 hours.[22]

...while other nest linings, like the lichen in this American
Golden-Plover scrape, may provide some level of insulation for the eggs, or
may help to camouflage them.

In warm climates, such as deserts and salt flats,
heat rather than cold can kill the developing embryos. In such places, scrapes
are shallower and tend to be lined with non-vegetative material (including
shells, feathers, sticks and soil),[23]
which allows convective cooling to occur as air moves over the eggs. Some
species, such as the Lesser Nighthawk and
the Red-tailed
Tropicbird, help reduce the nest's temperature by placing it in partial or
full shade.[24][25]
Others, including some shorebirds, cast shade with their bodies as they stand
over their eggs. Some shorebirds also soak their breast feathers with water and
then sit on the eggs, providing moisture to enable evaporative
cooling.[26]
Parent birds keep from overheating themselves by gular
panting while they are incubating, frequently exchanging incubation duties,
and standing in water when they are not incubating.[27]

The technique used to construct a scrape nest varies slightly depending on
the species. Beach-nesting terns, for instance, fashion their nests by rocking
their bodies on the sand in the place they have chosen
to site their nest,[28]
while skimmers build their scrapes
with their feet, kicking sand backwards while resting on their bellies and
turning slowly in circles.[29]
The Ostrich also scratches out its scrape with its feet, though it stands while
doing so.[30]
Many tinamous lay their eggs on a shallow mat of dead leaves they have
collected and placed under bushes or between the root buttresses of trees,[31]
and Kagus lay theirs
on a pile of dead leaves against a log, tree trunk or vegetation.[32]
Marbled Godwits stomp a
grassy area flat with their feet, then lay their eggs, while other grass-nesting
waders bend vegetation over their nests so as to avoid detection from above.[33]
Many female ducks, particularly in the northern latitudes, line their shallow
scrape nests with down feathers plucked from their own breasts, as well as with
small amounts of vegetation.[34]
Among scrape-nesting birds, the Three-banded
Courser and Egyptian Plover are
unique in their habit of partially burying their eggs in the sand of their
scrapes.[35]

[edit]
Mound

The huge mound nest of the Malleefowl acts like a
compost heap, warming and incubating the eggs as it rots around
them.

Burying eggs as a form of incubation reaches its zenith with the Australasian megapodes.
Several megapode species construct enormous mound nests made of soil,
branches, sticks, twigs and leaves, and lay their eggs within the rotting mass.
The heat generated by these mounds, which are in effect giant compost heaps,
warms and incubates the eggs.[1]
Recent research has shown that much of the nest's heat results from the
respiration of thermophilic fungi and other microorganisms rather than
fermentation, as had been previously believed.[36]
The size of some of these mounds can be truly staggering; several of the
largest—which contain more than 100 cubic metres (130 cu yd) of
material, and probably weigh more than 50 tons (45,000 kg)[36]—were
initially thought to be Aboriginal
middens.[37]

In most mound-building species, males do most or all of the nest
construction and maintenance. Using his strong legs and feet, the male scrapes together material from
the area around his chosen nest site, gradually building a conical or bell-shaped pile. This
process can take five to seven hours a day for more than a month. While mounds
are typically reused for multiple breeding seasons, new material must be added
each year in order to generate the appropriate amount of heat. A female will
begin to lay eggs in the nest only when the mound's temperature has reached an
optimal level.[38]

The mound nests of flamingos, like these Chilean Flamingos, help
to protect their eggs from fluctuating water levels.

Both the temperature and the moisture content of the mound are critical to
the survival and development of the eggs, so both are carefully regulated for
the entire length of the breeding season (which may last for as long as eight
months), principally by the male.[36]
Ornithologists believe that megapodes may use sensitive areas in their mouths to
assess mound temperatures; each day during the breeding season, the male digs a
pit into his mound and sticks his head in.[39]
If the mound's core temperature is a bit low, he adds fresh moist material to
the mound, and stirs it in; if it is too high, he opens the top of the mound to
allow some of the excess heat to escape. This regular monitoring also keeps the
mound's material from becoming compacted, which would inhibit oxygen diffusion
to the eggs and make it more difficult for the chicks to emerge after
hatching.[38]
The Malleefowl, which lives in
more open forest than do other megapodes, uses the sun to help warm its nest as
well—opening the mound at midday during the cool spring and autumn months to
expose the plentiful sand incorporated into the nest to the sun's warming rays,
then using that warm sand to insulate the eggs during the cold nights. During
hot summer months, the Malleefowl opens its nest mound only in the cool early
morning hours, allowing excess heat to escape before recovering the mound
completely.[40]
One recent study showed that the sex ratio of Australian
Brush-turkey hatchlings correlated strongly with mound temperatures; females
hatched from eggs incubated at higher mean temperatures.[41]

Flamingos
make a different type of mound nest. Using their beaks to pull material towards
them,[42]
they fashion a cone-shaped pile of mud between 15–46 cm (6–18 in)
tall, with a small depression in the top to house their single egg.[43]
The height of the nest varies with the substrate upon which it is built; those
on clay sites are
taller on average than those on dry or sandy sites.[42]
The height of the nest and the circular, often water-filled trench which
surrounds it (the result of the removal of material for the nest) help to
protect the egg from fluctuating water levels and excessive heat at ground
level. In East Africa, for example,
temperatures at the top of the nest mound average some 20°C (40°F) cooler than
those of the surrounding ground.[42]

The base of the Horned Coot's enormous nest
is a mound built of stones, gathered one at a time by the pair, using their
beaks. These stones, which may weigh as much as 450 g (about a pound) each, are
dropped into the shallow water of a lake, making a cone-shaped pile which
can measure as much as 4 m2 (43 sq ft) at the bottom
and 1 m2 (11 sq ft) at the top, and 0.6 m
(2.0 ft) in height. The total combined weight of the mound's stones may
approach 1.5 tons (1,400 kg). Once the mound has been completed, a sizable
platform of aquatic vegetation is constructed on top. The entire structure is
typically reused for many years.[44]

[edit]
Burrow

Sand Martin at the entrance
of its burrow nest

Soil plays a different role in the burrow nest; here, the eggs and
young—and in most cases the incubating parent bird—are sheltered under the
earth. Most burrow-nesting birds excavate their own burrows, but some use those
excavated by other species; Burrowing Owls, for
example, sometimes use the burrows of prairie dogs, ground squirrels, badgers or tortoises,[45]
China's endemic White-browed Tits use
the holes of ground-nesting rodents[46]
and Common Kingfishers
occasionally nest in rabbit burrows.[47]
Burrow nests are particularly common among seabirds at high latitudes, as they
provide protection against both cold temperatures and predators.[48]
Puffins, shearwaters,
some megapodes, motmots, todies, most kingfishers, the Crab Plover, miners and leaftossers
are among the species which use burrow nests.

Most burrow nesting species dig a horizontal tunnel into a vertical (or
nearly vertical) dirt cliff, with a chamber at the tunnel's end to house the
eggs.[49]
The length of the tunnel varies depending on the substrate and the species; Sand
Martins make relatively short tunnels ranging from 50–90 cm
(20–35 in),[50]
for example, while those of the Burrowing Parakeet
can extend for more than three meters (nearly 10 ft).[51]
Some species, including the ground-nesting puffbirds, prefer flat or
gently sloping land, digging their entrance tunnels into the ground at an
angle.[52]
In a more extreme example, the D'Arnaud's Barbet
digs a vertical tunnel shaft more than a meter (39 in) deep, with its nest
chamber excavated off to the side at some height above the shaft's bottom; this
arrangement helps to keep the nest from being flooded during heavy rain.[53]
Buff-breasted
Paradise-kingfishers dig their nests into the compacted mud of active
termite mounds, either on the ground or in trees.[47]

Burrow entrances in European Bee-eater
colony

Birds use a combination of their beaks and feet to excavate burrow nests. The
tunnel is started with the beak; the bird either probes at the ground to create
a depression, or flies toward its chosen nest site on a cliff wall and hits it
with its bill. The latter method is not without its dangers; there are reports
of kingfishers being fatally injured in such attempts.[47]
Some birds remove tunnel material with their bills, while others use their
bodies or shovel the dirt out with one or both feet. Female paradise-kingfishers
are known to use their long tails to clear the loose soil.[47]

Some crepuscular petrels and prions
are able to identify their own burrows within dense colonies by smell.[54]
Sand Martins learn the location of their nest within a colony, and will accept
any chick put into that nest until right before the young fledge.[55]

Not all burrow-nesting species incubate their young directly. Some megapode
species bury their eggs in sandy pits dug where sunlight, subterranean volcanic
activity, or decaying tree roots will warm the eggs.[1][36]
The Crab Plover also uses a
burrow nest, the warmth of which allows it to leave the eggs unattended for as
long as 58 hours.[56]

Predation levels on some burrow-nesting species can be quite high; on Alaska's Wooded
Islands, for example, river otters
munched their way through some 23 percent of the island's Fork-tailed
Storm-Petrel population during a single breeding season in 1977.[57]
There is some evidence that increased vulnerability may lead some burrow-nesting
species to form colonies, or to nest closer to rival pairs in areas of high
predation than they might otherwise do.[58]

[edit]
Cavity

A Northern Flicker
protruding from its cavity nest

The cavity nest is a chamber, typically in living or dead wood, but
sometimes in the trunks of tree ferns[59]
or large cacti,
including saguaro.[59][60]
In tropical areas, cavities are sometimes excavated in arboreal insect
nests.[61][62]
A relatively small number of species, including woodpeckers, trogons, some nuthatches and many barbets, can excavate their own
cavities. Far more species—including parrots, tits, bluebirds, most
hornbills,
some kingfishers, some owls, some ducks and some flycatchers—use
natural cavities, or those abandoned by species able to excavate them; they also
sometimes usurp cavity nests from their excavating owners. Those species that
excavate their own cavities are known as "primary cavity nesters", while those
that use natural cavities or those excavated by other species are called
"secondary cavity nesters". Both primary and secondary cavity nesters can be
enticed to use nest boxes (also known as bird
houses); these mimic natural cavities, and can be critical to the survival of
species in areas where natural cavities are lacking.[63]

Woodpeckers use their chisel-like bills to excavate their cavity nests, a
process which takes, on average, about two weeks.[60]
Cavities are normally excavated on the downward-facing side of a branch,
presumably to make it more difficult for predators to access the nest, and to
reduce the chance that rain floods the nest.[64]
There is also some evidence that fungal rot may make the wood on the underside
of leaning trunks and branches easier to excavate.[64]
Most woodpeckers use a cavity for only a single year. The endangered Red-cockaded
Woodpecker is an exception; it takes far longer—up to two years—to excavate
its nest cavity, and may reuse it for more than two decades.[60]
The typical woodpecker nest has a short horizontal tunnel which leads to a
vertical chamber within the trunk. The size and shape of the chamber depends on
species, and the entrance hole is typically only as large as is needed to allow
access for the adult birds. While wood chips are removed during the excavation
process, most species line the floor of the cavity with a fresh bed of them
before laying their eggs.

Black Woodpecker
youngsters in their cavity nest

Trogons excavate their nests by chewing cavities into very soft dead wood;
some species make completely enclosed chambers (accessed by upward-slanting
entrance tunnels), while others—like the extravagantly plumed Resplendent
Quetzal—construct more open niches.[62]
In most trogon species, both sexes help with nest construction. The process may
take several months, and a single pair may start several excavations before
finding a tree or stump with wood of the right consistency.

Species which use natural cavities—or old woodpecker nests—sometimes line the
cavity with soft material such as grass, moss, lichen, feathers or fur. Though a
number of studies have attempted to determine whether secondary cavity nesters
preferentially choose cavities with entrance holes facing certain directions,
the results remain inconclusive.[65]
While some species appear to preferentially choose holes with certain
orientations, studies (to date) have not shown consistent differences in
fledging rates between nests oriented in different directions.[65]

Cavity-dwelling species have to contend with the danger of predators
accessing their nest, catching them and their young inside and unable to get
out.[66]
They have a variety of methods for decreasing the likelihood of this happening.
Red-cockaded Woodpeckers peel bark around the entrance, and drill wells above
and below the hole; since they nest in live trees, the resulting flow of resin
forms a barrier that prevents snakes from reaching the nests.[67]
Red-breasted
Nuthatches smear sap around the entrance holes to their nests, while White-breasted
Nuthatches rub foul-smelling insects around theirs.[68]
Eurasian Nuthatches
wall up part of their entrance holes with mud, decreasing the size and sometimes
extending the tunnel part of the chamber. Most female hornbills seal themselves
into their cavity nests, using a combination of mud (in some species brought by
their mates), food remains and their own droppings to reduce the entrance hole
to a narrow slit.[69]

[edit]
Cup

Cup nest of a Common
Blackbird

Cup nest of a Redwing, with newly hatched
chicks

The cup nest is smoothly hemispherical inside, with a deep depression
to house the eggs. Most are made of pliable materials—including grasses—though a small number are
made of mud and
saliva.[70]
Many passerines and a few
non-passerines, including some hummingbirds and some
swifts, build this type of nest.

Small bird species in more than 20 passerine families, and a few
non-passerines—including most hummingbirds, kinglets and crests in the genus
Regulus, some tyrant flycatchers and
several New World warblers—use
considerable amounts of spider silk in the construction of their
nests.[71][72]
The lightweight material is strong and extremely flexible, allowing the nest to
mold to the adult during incubation (reducing heat loss), then to stretch to
accommodate the growing nestlings; as it is sticky, it also helps to bind the
nest to the branch or leaf to which it is attached.[72]

Cup-shaped nest insulation has been found to be related to: nest mass,[73][74]
nest wall thickness,[74][75][76]
nest depth,[73][74]
nest weave density/porosity,[73][75][77]
surface area,[74]
height above ground [73]
and elevation above sea level.[77]

More recently, nest insulation has been found to be related to the mass of
the incubating parent.[74]
This is known as an allometric relationship. Nest
walls are constructed with an adequate quantity of nesting material so that the
nest will be capable of supporting the contents of the nest. Nest thickness,
nest mass and nest dimensions therefore correlate with the mass of the adult
bird.[74]
The flow-on consequence of this is that nest insulation is also related to
parent mass.[74]

[edit]
Saucer or plate

The saucer or plate nest, though superficially similar to a cup
nest, has at most only a shallow depression to house the eggs.

[edit]
Platform

The huge platform nest of the Osprey

The platform nest is a large structure, often many times the size of
the (typically large) bird which has built it. Depending on the species, these
nests can be on the ground or elevated.[78]
In the case of raptor nests, or eyries (also spelt aerie), these
are often used for many years, with new material added each breeding season. In
some cases, the nests grow large enough to cause structural damage to the tree
itself, particularly during bad storms where the weight of the nest can cause
additional stress on wind-tossed branches.

[edit]
Pendant

Taveta Golden
Weaver building pendant nest

The pendant nest is an elongated sac woven of pliable materials such
as grasses and plant fibers and suspended from a branch. Oropendolas, caciques, orioles, weavers and sunbirds are among the species
that weave pendant nests.

[edit]
Sphere

The sphere nest is a roundish structure; it is completely enclosed,
except for a small opening which allows access.

[edit]
Nest protection and
sanitation

Many species of bird conceal their nests to protect them from predators. Some
species may choose nest sites that are inaccessible. Some may make specific
modifications to keep predators at bay. Bird nests can also act as habitats for
other inquiline species which may
not affect the bird directly. Birds have also evolved nest sanitation measures
to reduce the effects of parasites and pathogens on nestlings.

Some aquatic species such as grebes are very careful when
approaching and leaving the nest so as not to reveal the location. Some species
will use leaves to cover up the nest prior to leaving.

Ground birds such as plovers may use broken wing or rodent run
displays to distract predators from nests.[79]

Many species attack predators or apparent predators near their nests. Kingbirds attack
other birds that come too close. In North America, Northern
Mockingbirds, Blue Jays, and Arctic
Terns can peck hard enough to draw blood.[80]
In Australia, a bird attacking a
person near its nest is said to swoop the person. The Australian Magpie is
particularly well-known for this behavior.[81]

Nests can become home to many other organisms including parasites and
pathogens.[82]
The excreta of the fledglings also pose a problem. In most passerines, the
adults actively dispose the fecal sacs of young at a
distance or consume them. This is believed to help prevent ground predators from
detecting nests.[83]
Young birds of prey however usually void their excreta beyond the rims of their
nests.[84]
Blowflies of the genus
Protocalliphora have
specialized to become obligate nest parasites with the maggots feeding on the
blood of nestlings.[85]

Some birds have been shown to choose aromatic green plant material for
constructing nests that may have insecticidal properties,[86][87]
while others may use materials such as carnivore scat to repel smaller
predators.[88]

Nesting colony of Montezuma
Oropendolas

Some birds use pieces of snake slough in their nests.[89]
It has been suggested that these may deter some nest predators such as
squirrels.[90]

[edit]
Colonial nesting

Main article: Bird colony

Though most birds nest individually, some species—including seabirds, penguins, flamingos, many herons, gulls, terns, weaver, some corvids and some sparrows—gather together in
sizeable colonies. Birds that nest colonially may benefit from increased
protection against predation. They may also be able to better utilize food
supplies, by following more successful foragers to their foraging sites.[91]

[edit]
In human culture

Many birds nest close to human habitations and some have been specially
encouraged. Nesting White Storks have been
protected and held in reverence in many cultures.[92]
Nest boxes
are often used to encourage cavity nesting birds. The nesting of Peregrine Falcons on
tall buildings has captured popular interest.[93]
Colonial breeders produce guano which is a valuable
fertilizer. The saliva nests of Cave Swiftlets are used to make
Bird's nest soup in
parts of Southeast Asia.

Some species of birds are also considered nuisances when they nest in the
proximity of human habitations. Feral pigeons are often unwelcome and sometimes
also considered as a health risk.[94]

The Beijing National
Stadium, principal venue of the 2008 Summer
Olympics, has been nicknamed "The Bird Nest" because of its architectural
design, which its designers likened to a bird's woven nest.[95]

In the Victorian era, naturalists often collected
bird's eggs and their nests. The study of bird nests is called
caliology.[96]

[edit]
References

[edit]
Notes

^ a
b
c
Campbell
& Lack 1985, p. 386

^ Campbell
& Lack 1985, p. 345

^
Skutch, Alexander F (1960), "The
nest as a dormitory", Ibis 103 (1): 50–70, doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1961.tb02420.x.

^ Campbell
& Lack 1985, p. 387

^
Ehrlich
et al. 1994, pp. 228–232

^ del
Hoyo, Elliott & Sargatal 1992, p. 692

^ C.Michael
Hogan. 2010

^ del
Hoyo, Elliott & Sargatal 1992, p. 148

^ Ehrlich
et al. 1994, p. 252

^ Ehrlich
et al. 1994, p. 260

^ Cohn-Haft
1999, p. 295

^ Jaramillo
2001, p. 548

^ Short
& Horne 2002b, p. 282

^ Simon JE & Pacheco S
(2005), "On the standardization of nest descriptions of neotropical
birds" (PDF), Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 13 (2):
143–154, http://www.faunaparaguay.com/Sim13.pdf

^ Campbell
& Lack 1985, p. 390

^ Ehrlich
et al. 1994, p. xxii

^ Ehrlich
et al. 1994, p. 441

^ Campbell
& Lack 1985, p. 174

^ Campbell
& Lack 1985, p. 145

^ Williams, Ernest Herbert (2005), The
Nature Handbook: A Guide to Observing the Great Outdoors, Oxford
University Press, US, p. 115, ISBN 0195171942

^
Reid, J. M.;
Cresswell, W.; Holt, S.; Mellanby, R. J.; Whitby, D. P.; Ruxton, G. D (2002),
"Nest scrape design and clutch heat loss in the Pectoral Sandpiper
(Calidris melanotos)", Functional Ecology 16 (3):
305–316, doi:10.1046/j.1365-2435.2002.00632.x.

^ Szentirmai, István;
Székely, Tamás (2002), "Do Kentish plovers
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^ Grant
1982, p. 11

^ Grant
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^ Howell, Thomas R.; Bartholomew,
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^ Grant
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^ Grant
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^ del
Hoyo, Elliott & Sargatal 1996, p. 637

^ del
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^ del
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^ del
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^ del
Hoyo, Elliott & Sargatal 1996, p. 222

^ del
Hoyo, Elliott & Sargatal 1996, p. 473

^ del
Hoyo, Elliott & Sargatal 1992, p. 558

^ del
Hoyo, Elliott & Sargatal 1996, p. 371

^ a
b
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Elliott
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^ Hansell
2000, p. 9

^ a
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^ Elliott
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^ Elliott
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^ Göth, Anne (2007), "Incubation
temperatures and sex ratios in Australian brush-turkey (Alectura
lathami) mounds", Austral Ecology 32 (4): 278–285, doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2007.01709.x

^ a
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^ Seng 2001,
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^ Taylor, Barry; van Perlo, Ber
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^ Behrstock
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^ Harrap
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^ a
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^
Davenport, John (1992), Animal
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^ Ehrlich
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^ Ehrlich
et al. 1994, p. 345

^ Juniper
& Parr 2003, p. 24

^ Rasmussen
& Collar 2002, p. 119

^ Short
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^ Bonadonna, Francesco; Cunningham,
Gregory B.; Jouventin, Pierre; Hesters, Florence & Nevitt, Gabrielle A.
(2003), "Evidence for nest-odour recognition in two species of diving petrel",
J. Exp. Biol. 206 (Pt 20): 3719–3722, doi:10.1242/jeb.00610, PMID 12966063.

^ Goodenough, Judith;
McGuire, Betty; Wallace, Robert A.; Jacob, Elizabeth, Perspectives on
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^ De Marchi, G.; Chiozzi, G. &
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nesting tropical shorebird, the crab plover Dromas ardeola", Journal
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^ Boersma, P. Dee; Nathaniel T.
Wheelwright, Mary K. Nerini & Eugenia Stevens Wheelwright (April 1980), "The Breeding Biology of the Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Oceandroma
Furcata)", Auk 97 (2): 268–282, http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v097n02/p0268-p0282.pdf

^ Ehrlich
et al. 1994, p. 17

^ a
b
Collar
2001, p. 94

^ a
b
c
Reed
2001, pp. 380–1

^ Brightsmith, Donald J. (2000), "Use of Arboreal Termitaria by Nesting Peruvian Amazon",
Condor 102 (3): 529–538, doi:10.1650/0010-5422(2000)102[0529:UOATBN]2.0.CO;2, http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/issues/v102n03/p0529-p0538.pdf

^ a
b
Collar
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^ Phillips, Tina (Winter 2005), "Nest Boxes: More than Just Birdhouses", BirdScope
(Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology) 19 (1), http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Publications/Birdscope/Winter2005/nest_boxes.html

^ a
b
Conner
1975, p. 373

^ a
b
Rendell
& Robertson 1994, pp. 27–35

^ Perrins, Christopher M;
Attenborough, David; Arlott, Norman (1987), New Generation Guide to the
Birds of Britain and Europe, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press,
p. 230, ISBN 0292755325

^ Rudolph,
Kyle & Conner 1990

^ Reed 2001,
p. 437

^ Kemp 2001,
p. 469

^ Hansell, Mike (2000). Bird Nests & Construction
Behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 280. ISBN 9780521460385.

^ Ehrlich
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^ a
b
Erickson, Laura (Spring 2008), "The
Wonders of Spider Silk", BirdScope 22 (2): 7

^ a
b
c
d
Kern, M (1984). "Racial differences in nests of
white-crowned sparrows". Condor 86: 455–466. doi:10.2307/1366826.

^ a
b
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d
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f
g
Heenan, Caragh; Seymour, R. (2011). "Structural
support, not insulation, is the primary driver for avian cup-shaped nest
design". Proceedings of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.2798.

^ a
b
Skowron, C; Kern, M (1980). "The insulation in
nests of selected North-American songbirds". Auk 97:
816–824.

^ Whittow, F.N.; Berger, A.J. (1977). "Heat loss from
the nest of the Hawaiian honeycreeper, 'Amakihi'". Wilson Bulletin
89: 480–483.

^ a
b
Kern, M. D.; Van Riper, C. (1984). "Altitudinal
variations in nests of the Hawaiian honeycreeper Hemignathus virens virens".
Condor 86: 443–454. doi:10.2307/1366825.

^ Hyde, Kenneth (2004), Zoology: An Inside
View of Animals, Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt, p. 474, ISBN 0757509975

^ Byrktedal
1989

^ Gill
1995

^ Kaplan
2002

^ Hicks, Ellis A (1959), Checklist and bibliography on the occurrence of insects in
birds' nests, Iowa State College Press, Ames, http://www.archive.org/details/checklistbibliog00hick

^ Petit,
Petit & Petit 1989

^ Rosenfeld,
Rosenfeld & Gratson 1982

^ Sabrosky,
Bennett & Whitworth 1989

^ Wimberger
1984

^ Clark
& Mason 1985

^ Schuetz
2005

^ Strecker, John K (1926), "On the use, by birds, of snakes' sloughs as nesting
material" (PDF), Auk 53: 501–507, http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v043n04/p0501-p0507.pdf

^ Medlin, Elizabeth C.; Thomas S. Risch
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The Condor 108 (4): 963–965, doi:10.1650/0010-5422(2006)108[963:AETOSS]2.0.CO;2

^ Ward &
Zahavi 1973

^ Kushlan, James A. (1997), "The
Conservation of Wading Birds", Colonial Waterbirds (Waterbird
Society) 20 (1): 129–137, doi:10.2307/1521775, JSTOR 1521775, http://jstor.org/stable/1521775.

^ Cade &
Bird 1990

^ Haag-Wackernagel
& Moch 2004

^ "Competition entries for design of Beijing National Stadium".
Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning. Archived from the original on 2008-02-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20080220015738/http://www.bjghw.gov.cn/forNationalStadium/indexeng.asp#11. Retrieved 2008-02-25.

^ Dixon, Charles (1902), Birds' nests, New York: Frederick A Stokes,
p. v, http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924000206114

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Juniper, Tony; Parr, Mike
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[edit]
External links

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Bird Observatory Teacher Resource Packet—Activity 4: Building Bird
Nests

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