We’re all familiar with the nests of blackbirds and sparrows, rough, round, monochrome structures that do an excellent job of protecting these birds’ young but don’t display much in the way of pizzazz. Fortunately, though, birds have a wide range of nesting styles, utilizing various odd shapes and materials as diverse as shells, spider webs, saliva, and even small bits of plastic. On the following slides, you’ll discover the 11 most impressive bird nests, ranging from the fruit-like structures of the Montezuma oropendola to the colorful patterned displays of the male bowerbird.
The Montezuma Oropendola
From a distance, the nests of the Montezuma oropendola look like low-hanging fruit, a cruel illusion if you happen to find yourself shipwrecked and starving on a Caribbean island. During the breeding season, the coastal trees of the oropendola’s habitat are decorated with anywhere from 30 to 40 nests, though some larger specimens can host over a hundred. These nests are built by different females out of sticks and twigs, but there’s only one dominant (and much larger) male per tree, who mates in turn with each of the soon-to-be-moms. Females lay two eggs at a time, which hatch after 15 days, and the hatchlings leave the nest about 15 days after that.
The Malleefowl
Contrary to what most people think, a nest isn’t necessarily a structure built in a tree. For example, malleefowls create huge nests on the ground, some of which can measure over 150 feet in circumference and two feet high. The male malleefowl digs an enormous hole and fills it with sticks, leaves and other organic matter; after the female deposits her eggs, the breeding pair adds a thin layer of sand for insulation. As the organic matter below decays, its heat incubates the eggs; the only downside is that baby malleefowls have to dig their way out of these huge mounds after they hatch, an arduous process that can take as long as 15 hours
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