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What Species of Bird Builds Twig Nests

The number of birds that build nests made out of twigs is so long that it almost defies listing. A twig nest is seemingly easier and quicker to construct than a nest made out of mud or leaves, or one lined with feathers, wool, spider's webs or other things the parent bird has to go out of its way to gather. Perhaps the only nest that would be easier is the hollow in the ground scraped out by the ostrich, or no nest at all -- the blue-footed booby lays its egg on bare ground.

Egretta
- The white-faced heron is a slender, 26-inch long bird found in Australia that likes to build a nest of twigs and sticks, with a central hollow on top, in a tree. Breeding birds often perform courtship rituals at the nest where they raise the crests on their heads, necks and backs. The snowy egret, found from the United States and south through southern Chile, is a 2-foot-long bird once prized for its beautiful plumes. It also makes a twig nest in a tree.
Accipiter
- The Eurasian sparrowhawk, an 11- to 15-inch-long bird of prey, breeds in much of Eurasia and north Africa and builds a loose nest of twigs with a central hollow lined with even finer twigs in a tree. The sharp-shinned hawk is found in much of North America and Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. It's a 10 1/2-inch-long bird that makes a platform of twigs and sticks lined with smaller twigs, also in a tree.
Streptopelia
- The European turtle dove is an 11-inch-long pigeon found in Europe and Central Asia that builds a flimsy platform of twigs in a low tree or bush. The Eurasian collared dove, which is slightly larger, also builds a platform of twigs, usually in a conifer. It can be found from Europe, the Middle East, south and east Asia and on to China and Korea.
Columba
- In the wild the rock dove, an ancestor of the domestic pigeon, builds a messy nest of twigs lined with feathers on crags and in crevices. It is native to North Africa, the Middle East and India. The 16 1/2-inch-long common wood pigeon is found in Europe, Africa and the Middle East to northern India. It builds a shallow saucer of twigs high up in a leafy tree. Like the rock dove, it has learned to live around humans.

Animals & Science