Birds building more than one nest (1 Viewer)

[Kezza]

Hi, hope you can help with something that I've been wondering about for a while. :brains:

I know male Wrens build more than one nest and the female chooses but do most small birds build more than one?

Over the past few weeks I've watched a Woodpigeon build in next door's hedge and in two different hedges out the front about 150 feet apart. Could this be the same one?!

Also female Blackbirds in two different sites here and watched a Blue Tit take my rabbit fur into my nest box then immediately take some into the box two doors away!

So I know Blue Tits do but what about all the others? Also is it usually the male or female bird that builds?

Thank you, hope someone knows!

 

[bill moss]

Hi Kezza,

This is an area of Ornothology all to itself. Most birds are monogamous but some are bigamous. Most birds build only one nest and a very few build more. The building is often done by just the female, sometimes by the male with the female lining the nest, and sometimes by both or by one supplied with material by the other. Among the bigamous birds some have separate nests for the broods, others two or more females lay in the same nest. It's all very complicated.

But for your specific three here's the best that I can do (info from Cramp (BWP)

Woodpigeon. Monogamous with very rare cases of bigamy. Nest usually built by female supplied with twigs by the male, or rarely both birds may build still with the male supplying material. There is no lining to the nest.

Blackbird. Monogamous with exceptional bigamy. Nest built by female with just occasionally help from the male.

Blue Tit. Basically monogamous but with an underlying level of bigamy in optimal habitat (don't ask; me). Female builds the nest alone.

So from that I would guess that you are seeing 2 Woodies building, also different Blackbirds but! If Blackbirds lose their mate during the breeding season they will re-mate and start to build afresh. Why the Blue Tit would be taking lining material to 2 boxes I can't say because bigamy in birds is usually male orientated.

Hope that helps. If you're really interested in this then you should get some literature. One interesting book that covers some of this (and a lot more besides) is 'How Birds Live' by Robert Burton ISBN 0 7290 0022 2 which deals with all the basics but won't give you the stuff above, for species-specific info you really need BWP and the DVD version BWPi is the one to go for.

Bill.

 

[bill moss]

Hi Kezza,

Sorry, one that I missed; some birds don't build a nest at all.

Bill

 

[Kezza]

Thank you very much for that Bill, very interesting. I like to watch and try and understand what they are doing.

So it seems we have three different Wood Pigeons nesting very close by. I shall look forward to seeing the young.

Interesting about the Blue Tits. She definately took material to both boxes, guess she can't make up her mind! Last year they built in the neighbours box and put alittle in both of my boxes. The neighbours one fell down and so they started building in a hole in the house wall! This didn't seem to work as the material was soon all over their conservatory roof. In the end they did move into mine and were successfull.

You'd have thought they'd learn from this and come straight to me this year, but no, they're trying for the precariously balanced box again. I shall be interested to see which she lays in.

Thanks again for the info, all helps to understand what is happening out there.