Nest building

Nest building is the construction of a structure that animals use to hold eggs or shelter young. Materials, form, and construction behavior vary across species.

Nest architecture: The form and arrangement of materials in an animal nest. Architecture reflects how construction choices provide support, shelter, and access.
Brood care: Care provided by animals to eggs or dependent young. Nests provide a setting in which parents protect and tend their brood.
Baya weaver: An Asian weaver bird known for building elaborate, suspended nests from grass strips. Its hanging nests show how plant fibers can form complex enclosed structures.
Ground-nesting bird: A bird that lays eggs in a nest located on the ground rather than in a tree or cavity. Ground nests may rely on site choice and concealment instead of elaborate construction.
Urban ecology: The study of ecological interactions and processes in urban environments. Cities alter the materials, locations, and hazards available to nest builders.
Animal construction behavior: The behaviors animals use to build or modify structures in their environments. Nest building is one specialized form of animal construction.
Incubation: The maintenance of conditions needed for eggs to develop and hatch. Nest design can regulate temperature and position during incubation.
Sociable weaver: A southern African bird that builds large communal nests with many chambers. Its shared nest combines individual breeding spaces with a substantial communal structure.
Cavity-nesting bird: A bird that nests in a hollow in a tree, rock, building, or other structure. Cavity nesters often use a preexisting enclosure rather than building an exposed nest.
Phenotypic plasticity: The capacity of a genotype to produce different traits in different environments. Flexible construction can reveal how nest-building behavior responds to local conditions.

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