|
The point of building a nest is to have a safe place to raise offspring.1 Nests can vary as much as human houses on a single street can. You’ll find them in different areas, some might be higher or lower than others, some will be more intricately made, while others are more simple.2 Each bird species might have a shared style of building a nest, but overall most nests will be very different from each other.3
Sometimes birds work together to build the nests, other times the male will build one to impress the female, or the female will do it herself. They need to time everything correctly so that food is plentiful when their offspring will be hatched and need to be fed.3
The length of time it takes to build a nest also will vary. For example, some birds will lay their eggs on the ground without much of a nest at all, while others may take up to a week to construct theirs.2
We’re still learning about how birds know how to make their nests. Originally, it was thought that it was instinctual. However, studies have shown that it may be more complicated than that. Birds may actually learn from the other birds around them, which is known as social learning. Plus, birds have been seen to change their techniques overtime when they learn what works better for them.1
While we may still be learning exactly how birds know how to build a nest, we already know a lot about a bird's talons. We can learn a lot from them! Check out how the talons of different birds reflect their diet.
Read it here.
|
