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To help us get in the springtime spirit, science educator Becky Wolfe stopped by our natural science collection to see what spring-y inspiration she could share with us.
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One of the items often depicted in Spring decorations are bird nests. It makes sense to use them as a spring decoration, as it’s a common time for birds to lay their eggs. But are all bird nests the same? They all do the same purpose, a place for a bird to hatch an egg, but do all birds build a nest the same way? To investigate this question, I visited the museum’s Natural Science collection to take a peek at a few examples. As birds are found in every climate and continent, nests can take on many forms.
The reason birds build nests is to provide a place to hatch an egg and raise young birds. Scientists believe birds instinctively know how to build a nest and also are imprinted as young birds by their mothers. Most birds build their nest around their bodies, shaping it as they go, which also means the nest is the correct size for them. Many bird nests look alike, so it’s hard to tell what species might have built a nests. Catching a bird inside the nest is a sure way to know what type of next you're observing.
Birds will use materials in their habitat to build a nest, like bits of dirt or twigs. Some birds that live in urban settings, such as backyards, have even used bits of string or yarn in their nests. A lot of the nests you might find in your yard will look like a cup, but nests come in many shapes and sizes!
Swallows
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In our collection, I discovered a few interesting nests that were different shapes. One nest was built by a barn swallow. As a bird that often roosts in structures such as barns or even under a porch roof, its nest is built up next to a wall or rafter. It’s a nest that is made from a lot more mud and dirt than twigs! Swallows will also line the inside of the nest with feathers.
Hummingbirds
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The size of the nest depends on the bird as most birds build the nest around themselves. Check out this tiny hummingbird nest from our collection, built on a twig. As one of the world’s smallest birds, the eggs of hummingbirds are also very small. They don’t need much square footage. You can just imagine how big the nest of an eagle might be!
Orioles
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My favorite nest in our collection was of the Baltimore Oriole. This songbird has the ability to turn grass, small pieces of bark or even wool into fibers for their nest. By clinging to a branch and molding the nest around her, the oriole is able to build a cavity-like nest, rather than just a bowl. Orioles are also known to reuse nest materials.
Woodpeckers
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Birds are pretty resourceful, and some species have learned how to make nests using cavities or holes already present in nature. Take woodpeckers for example. As a bird that spends its days “drilling” holes into a tree for food, it makes sense that it would use a hole or cavity in a tree its nest. The woodpecker nest in our collection has been cutaway to show where the bird would hatch its eggs. Not all birds place their nests in trees either. Ducks for example, will build a nest in a protected area, usually near water to hatch their eggs.
