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.

The Most Strangely Beautiful Birds' Nests In The World

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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