A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs and/or provide a place to raise their offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building. Human-made materials, such as string, plastic, cloth, hair or paper, may be used.
Generally each species has a distinctive style of nest. Nests can be found in many different habitats.
Nests are built primarily by birds, but also by mammals, fish, insects and reptiles.
They may have some or all of the following zones: attachment; outer decorative layer; structural layer; lining.
Some birds will build nests in trees, some (such as vultures, eagles, and many seabirds like Kittiwakes) will build them on rocky ledges, and others nest on the ground or in burrows.
Bird nest
Most species of birds build some sort of nest, though some lay their eggs directly onto rock ledges or bare soil without first modifying the area. Nest types vary from the very simple scrape, which is merely a shallow depression in soil or vegetation, to the elaborately woven pendant or sphere; some bird species use cavities in trees or dig burrows into the ground.
Names of nests
- A badger's nest is called a sett.
- An eagle's nest is called an eyrie.
- A squirrel's or ringtail possum's nest is called a drey.
- A hare's nest is called a form.
- A pheasant's nest is called a nide.
- A wasps' nest is called a vespiary.
Gallery
References
- Hansell, Bird nests and construction behaviour, CUP 2005, ISBN 0-521-01764-5
See also
- Birdnesting – the criminal activity of collecting nests and eggs
- Bird nest
- Bird's nest soup
- Crow's nest
- Nest box
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Friday October 03, 2008 at 14:34:25 PDT (GMT -0700)
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