Can’t afford a house? See how these birds build their own

Most birds built their own nests - that’s nothing special. But THESE birds are truly great architects!

In recent years, many of us may have been dismayed to read about the ever-rising housing prices. Unlike houses, these prices don’t seem to have a ceiling! For example, in the past 10 years alone, average house prices across Great Britain have risen by 53%.

If you’re depressed about never owning a house, come dissociate with me about how much life sucks and read all about wonderful birds instead, and how they build their own homes!!

First up: my favourite, the Bowerbirds that decorate their home with art!

Image credit: Flickr. A male Satin Bowerbird (left, with blue-black plumage) tries to impress two ladies with his bower. It’s decorated with bright blue pieces of plastic.

Let me start by introducing the Bowerbird species as a whole. Many of us have heard of species like crows, hawks and more, but the Bowerbird is less well-known. They are mostly found in Papua New Guinea and Australia, and are named for their ability to build their own ‘bowers’.

The word bower means ‘a pleasant shady place under trees or climbing plants in a garden or wood’, and is basically one of Ye Olde Ways of referring to one’s dwelling. Like how we no longer use words such as overmorrow (day after tomorrow), lunting (walking while smoking a pipe) or groovy (80s slang for cool), we’ve lost the use of bower in everyday speech.

Bowerbirds basically build their own bowers, or homes, and that’s how they got their names!

Image credit: Wikipedia. Satin bowerbirds are one of the most commonly encountered bowerbirds in Australia. They live in forest habitats along the east coast, venturing into gardens and backyards where human development abuts their preferred habitat. 

There are 20 known species of Bowerbirds, and all but one of them build these super amazing, artistic homes. Males will build a structure by planting hundreds of sticks in the ground, and then decorate it with things such as shells, leaves, flowers, feathers, stones, berries, and even discarded plastic items, coins, nails, rifle shells, or pieces of glass! All of this so they can impress the ladies, of course!

Next: nifty Woodpeckers, whose tongues wrap around their brains while they excavate their future home!

Woodpeckers are lovely birds. They’re named for their behaviour of pecking into wood, obviously! That’s because they mostly forage for insects, which can be found around tree bark.

Image credit: eBird. A Pileated Woodpecker returns to feed its chicks. These woodpeckers will dig holes in trees to house their chicks!

Some species of woodpeckers also eat fruits, other birds' eggs, small animals, tree sap, and even carrion (dead animal flesh)!

Woodpeckers make it onto this list of birds that build their own amazing homes because of their ability at excavating.

Instead of building a nest with twigs and leaves, woodpeckers usually use their strong, sharp beaks to chisel a hole in a tree.

Another cool thing about woodpeckers is that they are socialists! (Ooh, the US government is quaking in their boots right now!)

Image credit: Steve S. Meyer. The Pileated Woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half. The feeding excavations of a Pileated Woodpecker are so extensive that they often attract other birds!

Socialism is, broadly speaking, a system in which property and the means of production are owned by the public. This public ownership of resources leads to a more equal society.

The reason why I call woodpeckers socialist is the same reason why woodpeckers are considered keystone species in their habitats: their habit of excavating a new cavity every breeding season provides countless FREE homes for other species of animals and birds. Many species of birds, mammals, reptiles and more will take over and make use of past-year woodpecker nests.

P.S., keystone species is a term used to describe something that holds the whole system together. Without the keystone species, the rest of the ecosystem will suffer - in the forests where woodpeckers live, if they disappeared, many little critters would be unable to excavate their own homes, and would be left to brave the elements.

Image credit: Ken Griffiths. A Northern Flicker, native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, shows off its long tongue.

One last fun fact I want to share about woodpeckers is the fact that they have ‘built-in’ helmets, in the shape of their insanely long tongues. The ‘tongue bone’ of the woodpecker is incredibly long, and wings around the skull through a special cavity. This acts as a sort of cushion for the brain, so that woodpecker brains don’t turn to mush whenever they drill into tree trunks!

Lastly: the clever Weaver birds that get their name from their amazing ability to weave nests from grass!

Meet the Baya Weaver!

Image credit: eBird. The Baya Weaver is one of the few bird species known for its exceptional skill in building the nest! A male Weaver will build the nest and, once it’s half constructed, will begin to display it to passing females by flapping their wings and calling while hanging from their half-built nests.

They can be found across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia (and yes, in Singapore!) Flocks of these birds are found in places like grassland, and they choose to live in these lush, grassy areas so they have access to their building materials.

Like the other birds we’ve learned about in this article, Baya Weavers are named after their behaviour - their ability to weave nests. In fact, you can probably find this bird’s colony before you spot the bird itself!

Image credit: Zahoor Salmi. These nest colonies are usually found on thorny trees or palm fronds and the nests are often built near water or hanging over water where predators cannot reach easily. They are widespread and common within their range but are prone to local, seasonal movements mainly in response to rain and food availability.

Baya Weavers typically nest in colonies of up to 20 and 30 birds, and each male will weave these amazing, pendulum-shaped nests out of long grass and leaves.

These nesting colonies will be placed close to a source of food, nesting material and water. In Singapore, you can find these colonies around Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, which has all three of these objects.

Image credit: Mohan Moolepetlu. A male Baya Weaver and his half-built nest. The breeding season of the Baya Weavers is during the monsoons!

Among the Baya Weavers, it is the males that weave elaborate nests, using only their beaks (no opposable thumbs here!). The main material they use for their nests are long strips of paddy leaves, rough grasses and long strips torn from palm fronds.

All the birds we’ve learnt about today are truly amazing, but the Weaver birds take the cake for the best homemakers! Their nests are soft, comfy and private, and situated in a makeshift ‘city’!

Not all birds are great architects, though

Unfortunately, not all birds have this ability to weave nests, excavate tree cavities, or build intricate bowers. Some birds have no choice but to lay eggs on the cold, barren ground.

Meet one such bird: the Killdeer.

Image credit: All About Birds. The Killdeer get their name from the shrill, wailing kill-deer call they give so often. Eighteenth-century naturalists also noticed how noisy Killdeer are, giving them names such as the Chattering Plover and the Noisy Plover.

Like the Woodpecker, the Killdeer’s name was chosen due to their behaviour. They can be spotted all over the world, killing deer…

No, I’m just joking!

These birds were actually given their common name because of their call, which sounds like a shrill, wailing “kill-deer” call.

The Killdeer is a type of Plover, which is a type of bird found near seashores. Plovers used their beaks to pry deep into the sand and will gobble up the worms, small insects, and crustaceans found near the shore.

Compared to the clever birds in our list, the Killdeer is generally seen as a bit of a dumb bird that haphazardly lays its eggs on the ground. No nest, no padding, nothing. Its eggs are just rawdogging the world. And, although it is a shorebird, it does not necessarily nest close to water.

Killdeer lay their eggs on the ground out in open, often among stones, hiding them in plain sight. They sometimes even lay their eggs in cracks of the concrete in parking lots! But, they eggs are camouflaged to look just like the rocks!

Image credit: Fishbio. The Killdeer bird is known for laying them eggs on bare rocks. When killdeer chicks hatch, they can immediately see and are off running as soon as their feathers dry, with little evidence remaining at the nest. Once the chicks are hatched, the parents will immediately remove the eggshells from the vicinity, a behavior seen in many shorebirds species. Even though the outsides of the eggs are well camouflaged, the bright white interior of the eggshells can attract predators.