Amazing Birds Use Camouflaging Materials When Building Nests (PHOTOS)

It only takes one look at a bird’s nest to figure out that our flying friends use materials that are readily available in the area to build their homes. Upon closer examination, however, it would seem that there’s a bit more thought put into constructing Tweety Tower than just grabbing a bunch of twigs. Is there a bigger master plan behind what makes up a bird’s master bedroom?

According to a new study, the answer is yes. Researches have verified that when given scraps of different colored paper with which to build a nest, Zebra Finches will choose the colored paper that most closely resembles the background of their surroundings.

Doing this helps to mask the nest from predators, keeping the nest and its contents concealed. The finches were also observed throwing in a bit of contrasting color here and there, which would serve to break the pattern of the nest up in order to fool a predator into thinking that it wasn’t a nest at all. With predation ranking chief among dangers birds and their young face, this study just helps to confirm the forethought and intelligence of birds in the wild. But, we already knew that much!

While the observations were made on zebra finches, here are several other examples of various bird species that expertly employ camouflage when building their nests too.

Humming birds have been known to use lichen, paper and even paint chips to give their nests the hue and texture that would blend best with surrounding branches.

Columbia Magazine

Pine Siskins not only build very well concealed nests, their abodes are also known for being well insulated due to their winter mating habits.

Knox News

Zebra finches have excellent color vision and will use twigs and leaves that not only blend, but some contrasting colors mixed in to fool predators into believing it’s not really a nest at all.

IFL Science

Wrybill eggs are kept so well concealed by the surrounding rocks that they’re almost impossible to tell apart!

Commons.wikimedia

Like the Wrybill, the Killdeer is another ground nesting bird that uses rocks and gravel to camouflage their eggs.

Tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com

Cactus wrens build their nests amongst the thorny terrain of the cholla cactus, along with a few others. We guess you could say they’re picky about where they nest…

Kids.britannica.com

Eastern Screech Owls don’t build a nest, instead living in cavities or existing holes in trees where they can blend in.

Funny-pictures.picphotos

With its leaf covered, dome shaped nest resembling a dutch oven, the Ovenbird hides itself on the forest floor from predators above.

Macphail Woods

Bushtits build their nests using spiderwebs and then employ grass, lichen and plant material from the surrounding foliage for the best blend.

Vale Easton

Vesper sparrows make small depressions in the ground, which are then lined with dry grasses and twigs to make look like it’s merely a part of the terrain.

Where Mountain Meets Prairie

Lead image source: Tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com