Ground-nesting bird
A bird that lays its eggs and raises its young on the ground, rather than in a tree, shrub, or elevated cavity.
Bird nest: A structure or site used by birds to hold eggs and provide a place for incubation or chick rearing. Ground nests are the ground-based form of the broader range of bird nesting sites.
Incubation: The process of keeping eggs within conditions that allow embryos to develop and hatch. Ground-nesting parents regulate egg temperature while remaining exposed to weather and predators.
Killdeer: A shorebird that nests on open ground and often distracts predators with a broken-wing display. It illustrates conspicuous ground nesting paired with parental distraction behavior.
Nest predation: The consumption of eggs or young by predators at a nest. Ground nests are accessible to many terrestrial predators, making predation a major breeding risk.
Precociality: A developmental pattern in which hatchlings are relatively mobile and well developed soon after birth or hatching. Many ground-nesting birds hatch mobile chicks that can leave the nest soon after hatching.
Nest camouflage: The concealment of a nest through colors, materials, or placement that blend with its surroundings. Camouflaged nests are less visible against soil, vegetation, and leaf litter.
Common ostrich: The largest living bird, native to Africa, which lays eggs in a communal ground nest. Its large eggs and shared nest show a distinctive ground-nesting system.
Habitat fragmentation: The division of continuous habitat into smaller, more isolated patches. Fragmented habitats can expose ground nests to more edge effects and predators.
Altriciality: A developmental pattern in which hatchlings are helpless, poorly developed, and dependent on parental care. Altricial chicks remain in nests, contrasting with the mobile young common among many ground nesters.
Nest defense: Behaviors that parents use to deter threats to eggs or young at a nest. Ground nesters may confront or distract predators approaching eggs and chicks.