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Bird Nests and Breeding

A grid of ten bird eggs of varying colors and shapes on a black background.
How to Identify Bird Eggs: Color, Size, and Markings
October 30, 2026 — Found an egg? Check out these quick tips to figure out what species laid it.
Three Scarlet Macaws perch in a leafy tree full of green fruits.
Do Birds in the Tropics Have a Breeding Season—or Do They Just Mate All of the Time?
April 28, 2026 — You might think that the neotropics are one big mating party, but even in places that stay green and vibrant year-round, raising chicks comes with trade-offs.
A Ruffed Grouse stands on a mossy rock at dawn flapping his wings, evident by motion blur.
Here’s How Ruffed Grouse Make That Wild Drumming Sound—and How to Hear it for Yourself
March 27, 2026 — The secretive game bird’s unique courtship display is a treat for birders and a boon for science.
Bird Behavior
Mark Hauber inspects a nest in a tree using a telescopic mirror.
Got Beef With Cowbirds? This Researcher Wants to Change Your Mind
January 15, 2026 — The brood parasites get a bad rap for making other birds raise their young, but study by study, Mark Hauber and his “Cowbird Lab” have revealed a species worthy of respect.
Bird Science
A messy clump of leaves and sticks sits in the fork of a tree.
How to Tell if That Nest Belongs to a Squirrel or a Bird
September 18, 2025 — Squirrels build structures called dreys that can be easy to mistake for a crow or hawk’s nest.
The inside of a nest box containing a nest of sticks, four small eggs, and a snakeskin.
Some Birds Adorn Their Nests With Snakeskin to Scare Off Predators, New Study Finds
November 26, 2024 — Nests with shed skins have long fascinated ornithologists, but researchers only recently confirmed their use as a deterrent by cavity nesters.
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta from space.
Western Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Is Big … for Arctic-Breeding Shorebirds
June 24, 2024 — A new study reveals Alaska’s climate-sensitive YKD to support 7 million Arctic-breeding shorebirds—including the majority of six North American populations.
ALASKA Important Bird Areas
Woodcocks Don’t Let Migration Mess With Their Sex Lives
April 24, 2024 — A new study finds the first proof that timberdoodles mate as they migrate, an extremely rare behavior known as itinerant breeding.
Bird Science
A Bald Eagle sits in a nest on the ground looking at the camera.
Why Do Birds Incubate Rocks?
March 14, 2024 — From stones to bones and other random objects, birds have been found to incubate seemingly anything that looks like an egg. But maybe that’s also the point?
Bird Questions and Facts
A bird nest made with hundreds of metal spikes in the fork of a tree branch.
Apparently Magpies and Crows Are Using "Anti-Bird Spikes" to Make Their Nests
July 13, 2023 — Birds often incorporate human-made materials while nest building, but a new study shows European corvids are taking the idea to the extreme.