What Are the Different Types of Bird Nests?

Mound

• Some birds lay eggs insides mounds that they have built from material such as leaves, soil and grass. Most species of birds do this by using their feet to collect debris and pile it up. The eggs are kept warm by the heat that the decomposing material generates.

Scrape

• Scrapes are shallow depressions that have been scratched into soil or vegetation and are usually only deep enough to prevent the eggs from rolling away. They may or may not be lined with feathers, shell or grass. Some birds roll their bodies in soft vegetation or soil to create this type of nest instead of scratching into the ground. Birds such as oystercatchers use this type of nest.

Adherent

• Made from mud, these nests are built against surfaces such as a wall, cliff or a stone ledge. Adherent nests vary in shape and may resemble a globe, a cone or a hemisphere. To build this type of nest, birds collect and add mud or dirt to the nest, allowing it to dry before adding more. Saliva also is occasionally added to this building material. Species of birds that build these nests include barn swallows.

Burrow

• Burrow nests may be built by burrowing into the ground vertically or burrowing into a vertical cliff face horizontally. Birds use their feet and beaks to do this. There are chambers at each end of the tunnel that has been created. These vary in size depending on the type of bird using it.

Pendant

• These nests are suspended from the tips of tree branches and resemble hanging bags, which are woven from plants such as grasses. Pendant nests are either cup nests or an enclosed sack with an entrance hole. Orioles build this type of nest.

Cup

• Cup nests, made from grass, lichen, spider webs, mud and grass, are probably the most well-known type of nest and are favored by most types of songbirds. They usually sit in the fork of a tree but may appear in other positions. Birds collect material and fly it to the nest to apply it to the structure, creating a depression in the middle to hold the eggs in place. The nest material is usually held together with spider webs or mud.

Aquatic

• Aquatic nests are built in water, either by floating the nest on top of the water or building a foundation of vegetation, sticks and rocks to the level of the water before building a nest on it. These nests also may be found anchored in shallow water.

Platform

• These large nests are often much bigger than the birds that build them. Hawks prefer this type of nest. Platform nests are either built in shallow water or in tree tops.

Cavity

• With this type of nest, holes in trees lead to a chamber containing eggs. While some birds create openings with their strong beaks or chew openings in soft wood, few birds have the ability to chisel these cavities themselves. For most birds, natural cavities and those made by other birds are often used.