The Most Strangely Beautiful Birds' Nests In The World

Published on 7/27/2015 at 1:34 PM

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When you think of a bird's nest, you probably picture a typical bowl-shaped structure made of twigs and leaves, right? Well, it turns out some bird nests are a bit more complicated than that.

To woo a mate, the village weaver builds three to five nests each mating season - each takes up to 15 hours to create.

Shutterstock/Karel Gallas

Sociable weavers win the award for biggest bird nest on Earth. Hundreds of families live in just one.

Shutterstock/Isabella Pfenninger

Shutterstock/EcoPrint

The mud nests built by the rufous hornero are dome-shaped and often stacked on top of each other.

Flickr/julianomarp

Dozens of Montezuma oropendola nests hang from one tree - they're ruled by an alpha male who takes his pick of the ladies.

Flickr/caspar s

The tiny hummingbird has an equally tiny nest. Barely bigger than a teacup, they often contain spider webs to hold them together.

Flickr/stephane4500

Malleefowl nests are made of enormous mounds of sand they use to protect their young.

Wikimedia Commons/Glen Fergus

Cactus ferruginous pygmy owls live in - what else? - a cactus. The hollowed-out space is made by a woodpecker, though.

Flickr/bunky's pickle

Sand martins burrow tunnels into sandy seaside walls or cliffs, where they hide eggs deep inside.

Flickr/treehouse1977

Bower birds construct nests on the ground with colorful cloth, trash and whatever else a male can find to attract a mate.

Flickr/thinboyfatter

This cozy-looking nest belongs to the bushtit. He creates his hanging castle out of grass and spider webs.

Flickr/Mike's Birds