Birds build some staggering structures, from nests the size of walnuts to makeshift rafts and even apartment complexes.
It’s mind-boggling what these flying creatures are capable of. Let’s find out together as we countdown 15 Birds that have the most amazing nests.
Hamerkop A squat, brown, ibis-like bird with a bushy-crested “hammer-head”; often found near wetlands or rivers. In flight, it has distinctively deep wingbeats and may occasionally soar very high, when the long neck separates it from raptors.
It struts about in wetlands foraging for frogs, fish, and insects. No one really knows, but the nests are big with only one breeding pair doing the building.
It has been said that the size of the nest may be used as an advertising beacon, letting other Hamerkops know that the area is occupied this even though Hamerkops do not hold territories and will therefore not defend a specific area.
The large nests are also a great defense against torrential rain as well as wind and provide a place of refuge for both parents and offspring.
The pair is very energetic in their building, starting with a bowl shape, adding the sides and roof, and then plastering the entrance tunnel and breeding chamber with mud brought in by the male but applied by the female.
The mud also helps improve the structural strength of the nest and blocks any holes in the nest thereby creating an insulated chamber.
Nests can be built in as little as a month or can take up to six months depending on the availability of materials that are suitable for construction.
Mostly sticks, along with grasses and reeds are mainly used. Nests can physically weigh up to 50kg and consist of thousands of pieces of material.
They are usually built between the main forks of larger trees along watercourses or dams.
Other bird species provide the biggest problems for Hamerkops, with a large number of species eager to set up residence within the Hamerkops mansion.
Owls, geese and small hole nesting raptors, such as kestrels, are all unwelcome residents of the nests.
Other visitor species may have no use for the chambers but will utilize the top of the nest as a base to construct their own nests.
Hamerkops may build a new nest every year or use the same one repeatedly.
This depends on many variables leading to favorable conditions for bring including food sources, disturbance by predators as well as interference by man. Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Nest
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is a small hummingbird with a slender, slightly down curved bill and fairly short wings that don’t reach all the way to the tail when the bird is sitting.
Like a crown jewel, the nest of a hummingbird is one of the great wonders in all of nature.
They are so tiny, so perfect. Yet, few of us have ever seen a hummingbird nest. This is because they are nearly impossible to find.
From the ground, they look like another bump on a branch. From above, an umbrella of leaves conceals them. From the side, they look like a tiny knot, quilted with lichens, plant down and fibers.
Though each of the 17 hummingbird species that breed in North America builds slightly different nests in various habitats, all hummingbird nests have much in common.
Females build their nests 10 to 90 feet high, generally in trees or shrubs.
Hummingbirds build velvety, compact cups with spongy floors and elastic sides that stretch as the young grow.
They weave together twigs, plant fibers, and bits of leaves, and use spider silk as threads to bind their nests together and anchor them to the foundation. Hummingbird eggs are about the size of navy beans.
Most females lay two eggs, which they incubate for 15 to 18 days. Juvenile hummingbirds leave the nest 18 to 28 days after hatching. Hummingbird eggs are cradled in soft fluffy fibers that hummingbirds choose from plants nearby.
