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Not Just for the Birds: A Showcase of Nests from Museum Collections

A photo collection of bird nests showcases roadrunners' thorny nurseries, hummingbirds' delicate digs and a wren nest that's wrapped in sheep's wool

By Francie Diep | August 13, 2011

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Article: Not Just for the Birds: A Showcase of Nests from Museum Collections » August 13, 2011

RAINBOW BRIGHT:

The female Icterus gularis, or Altamira oriole, needs at least three weeks to build her free-hanging nest. Normally she uses long vines or palm fronds, but this one wove in some colorful twine....[More]

CONTINUOUS CAMO:

Spiderwebs and cocoons glue together fine plant fibers in the tiny nests of Anna's hummingbirds ( Calypte anna ). Lichen stuck around the outside provides camouflage....[More]

ALL SEWN UP:

The common tailorbird, Orthotomus sutorius, gets its name from its ability to "stitch" leaves together with threads of spider silk, plant fibers or any man-made fibers it can find....[More]

HOME SWEET HOME:

Nests of the Tangara larvata, golden-hooded tanagers, are simple cups made of leaves and bits of fungus. But the cups are deeply hidden, often in tree cavities or under banana leaves....[More]

IN THE STICKS:

Greater roadrunners ( Geococcyx californianus ) are hardy desert birds that nest in cacti and thorny bushes. The nests themselves are made from thorny sticks lined with softer material, such as leaves, grass, snakeskin or flakes of manure....[More]

CENTRAL AMERICAN CO-OP:

In a three-member example of symbiosis, Campylorhynchus rufinucha, or rufous-naped wrens, live in acacia trees in Central America that are also home to aggressive ants....[More]

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