These Birds’ Nests Are Terrible for a Reason

Some birds' nests are works of art. These are not those. But we'll see why the terrible nesting habits of the cuckoo or jacana or even pigeons are the right thing for their survival.

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Sources:

[TopLob]

Imo, using bird spikes seems like the smartest nest. They recognized that the spikes are a deterrent for other birds, and they also had the brains to detach and use them. Some birds build nests out of thorns, and I figure this is a creative version of that.

[dickygushy]

"man, I can't believe these bird nests"
-Me, who hasn't made my bed for over a decade

[outistynnanyt]

I once saw a pigeon "nest" on top of an I-beam, with an egg nestled into the the anti bird spikes underneath. I thought it had just rolled off the post, until a pigeon landed on the beam, sitting with its butt directly above the egg. It seems like the egg was literally laid _into_ the spikes

[Alias_Anybody]

Those Magpies are metal. Literally. Forget the stories about them stealing jewelry, those birds are FORTIFIED.

[OhMyGoshItsALeg]

Savannah wearing a 'Trying My Best' sweater in solidarity with the pigeons

[orthoplex]

"What are those spikes for?"
"Birds"
Birds: "I agree"

[rickseiden]

Those Magpies are making The Iron Nest using the weapons of their defeated foes.

[redbloodedbutterfly]

Train stations where I live often use anti-bird spikes, even though it seems to be a favorite nesting site for rock doves. The rock doves use trash, especially plastic bags, to keep from being hurt by the spikes. Also amusing are the plastic statues of horned owls. Rock doves will chill next to the statues.

[Nagahna]

There's a hilarious video of a seagull who put her nest ON the tracks of a rollercoaster. The employee of the park called her a bad mom

[thatsalotofsodiumcoins]

I made the stupid dove nest subreddit and am so glad at the butterfly effect it’s had on the internet talking about how some birds are just really pitiful when it comes to nest building 😂

[tortex]

Human: That'll stop those pesky birds from landing here.
Magpie: Oh, the nest stabilizers have been restocked! Hopefully these are decent, the last selection was truly dreadful.

[SeansAnimalWorld]

Added note on the cowbirds to keep people from lumping unnecessary hate towards them: they can't build their own nests because historically they were nomadic and followed bison herds and other large mammals pre-colonization. They didn't have time or consistent locations to return to when following these herds that allowed them the months to build a nest, and raise chicks to fledgling and flying age. So hedging your bets with whatever cup-nesting birds around when the herds were there made total sense. But once bison were eradicated, fences put up, and sedentary cattle introduced, they stopped needing to be nomadic VERY quickly which meant that the adaptations for that nomad lifestyle weren't (and aren't) able to change. What would've been random locations and nests being hit by the cowbird nests, turned into every year being hit over and over since the cowbirds weren't moving around as much if at all. Colonists created the "villain" of the beautiful and melodic cowbirds.

[dalashas]

Pigeons broke into our flat (well, we left the window open) and started building a nest. We prevented further construction after 1 night's work, but funnily enough that night's work consisted of a few twigs, 3 sticks, a couple scraps of moss, and an anti-pigeon spike.

[debbiej.]

I've wondered why mourning doves had the most pathetic nests I've ever seen- about five pine needles. But they are terrific parents.

[hullbowyer]

We once had a wood pigeon make it's nest which was three twigs on top of a 6ft gate, postman opened the gate and got covered in egg

[Heavilymoderated]

I was doing some work on the underside of a bridge, and found a pigeon “nest” which was just a pile of poop with an egg plopped on top of it.

[durgeshpatel]

We have a pigeon couple in our area. They build their nest every breeding season at the same spot in our house and each and every time their egg had fallen from it like they have never succeeded in having an offspring 0 success rate .😮

[jeffreyschweitzer]

Building nests out of meteorites was all the rage back in the Cretaceous, but it seems like something must have happened that suddenly made that material a lot less popular

[einienj]

Pigeons are a bit confused, but they got the spirit.. 😂

[lauragarnham]

In the house I lived as a teenager, a pair of collared doves would come every Spring and try to build a nest on my window sill - the problem was it was way too narrow. One would knock off whatever their partner had placed when they landed and I am pretty sure any eggs would have rolled to their doom instantly. So I always had to scare them off so they would eventually give up and go elsewhere.