Bird Nests and Breeding

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.
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.
A small brown and gray bird perches at the entrance of its dome-like, moss-and-lichen nest, holding plant material in its beak.
Bird Nests Tell Extraordinary Stories, If You Learn How to Read Them
March 29, 2023 — Casey McFarland, author of “Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests,” describes how paying attention to nests can improve your birding.
A round globular nest made of twigs and dry grasses with a hole for entry built in a cactus in a desert landscape.
Appreciate These Magnificent Avian Nests—and the Next One You Find in the Field
March 06, 2023 — Birds build an amazing variety of nest types, and each construction is a work of art.
A chickadee perched on a pine branch with a blue background.
In the Rockies, Human Activity Paves the Way for a Hybrid Bird Boom
January 12, 2023 — Black-capped and Mountain Chickadees mate more often than previously believed, research shows—especially where people disturb their habitat.
Bird Science
These Early Nesters Get a Head Start on Breeding Season
March 17, 2022 — Not every bird species waits for spring to lay eggs and raise chicks.