Last updated on May 16th, 2023 at 11:54 pm
While most birds build nests to hold their eggs and hatchlings, some birds rely on other strategies. Some birds lay their eggs directly on the ground, while others lay their eggs in the forks of tree branches and hidden places.
These are 10 bird species that don’t make nests:
1. Emperor Penguin
Because Emperor Penguins live in the cold Antarctic, where nesting materials are scarce, they’re forced to find an alternative to a traditional nest.
The alternative needs to be somewhere warm and protected from the wind.
Typically, the female Emperor Penguin will lay her egg directly on the ice and then pass it to her male mate to incubate on top of his feet within his abdominal pocket.
He will keep this egg in place for months, keeping it warm as the chick inside grows until it can finally hatch.
Here’s a video of male Emperor Penguins incubating their eggs and supporting them while they hatch:
2. Chuck-Will’s-Widow
The Chuck-will’s-willow is a nightjar found in North America that lays its eggs directly on leaves, pine needles, or dirt rather than in a nest.
It’ll typically lay its eggs in dense, forested areas near the edge of a clearing.
Chuck-will’s-willow mothers will incubate their broods by sitting on top of them, both parent and eggs well-camouflaged.
Typically, Chuck-will’s-widows will use the same patch of ground to lay its eggs year after year, but if it’s disturbed, it’ll move a significant distance away.
These birds can be found across the southeastern United States in the breeding season and in southern Florida all year round.
3. Common Murre
Common Murres live together in colonies of hundreds, packed so densely that there’s no room for nests.
Common Murres spend most of their time in the open ocean, but they’ll lay their eggs on cliff sides, directly on the ground.
Without a nest for protection, parent murres will stay with their eggs constantly to keep them safe from predators like crows and gulls.
The pointed shape of the eggs keeps them from rolling off the edge of cliffs.
Common Murres can be found in the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean and North America, Europe, and Russia.
4. White Tern
The White Tern lives in tropical areas, laying eggs up in the trees within nooks and crevices of large branches.
Because this bird lays its eggs without nests, it’s less likely to attract parasites.
Parasites are generally common in colonies of seabirds like the White Tern but are not found in White Tern populations in large numbers.
5. Common Potoo
The Common Potoo lays its eggs on top of broken tree branches, where it can sit on top of them to incubate without building a nest.
It does this to make it easier to camouflage, as building a nest would attract the attention of potential predators.
Common Potoos aren’t fierce defenders, but they’re adept at camouflage.
6. Cowbird
Both the Brown-headed Cowbird and the Bronzed Cowbird are brood parasites, meaning they steal other birds’ nests rather than making their own.
These birds will lay their eggs in another’s nest, then leave the young for the other parents to raise.
Some experts hypothesize that cowbirds do this because they’re nomadic and don’t typically spend enough time in one place to attend to a nest.
Rather, they follow herds of bison or cattle, moving from place to place.
Common cowbird targets are Song Sparrows and Eastern Phoebes, although they use the nests of over 200 different species.
They tend to choose nests that are near forest edges.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects cowbirds, so removing them from any nest without a permit is illegal.
However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has offered such a permit in the past to protect Kirtland’s Warblers, an endangered species that was targeted by cowbirds en masse.
7. Cuckoo Finch
Cuckoo Finches, like Cowbirds, are brood parasites that use other birds’ nests for their young. They’ll typically go for Tawny-flanked Prinia nests.
Unfortunately for the Cuckoo Finch, the prinia have started recognizing their eggs and have developed the ability to peck them to death.
Other birds, like weavers, create narrow entrances to their nests to capture cuckoos and other parasites.
8. Common Cuckoo
The Common Cuckoo, another brood parasite, lays eggs in many different birds’ nests, including the Reed Warbler.
Common Cuckoo young are aggressive towards the host young, pushing the other eggs out of the nest before they’re even hatched.
Check out this video of a Common Cuckoo pushing Reed Warbler eggs out of their nest:
If they hatch, the young cuckoos will viciously attack the warblers, pecking at the competing hatchlings with sharp, hooked beaks until they die.
They do this while they’re still too young to have feathers.
Common Cuckoos also effectively convince warbler parents to feed them, even after they’ve killed their young.
They can echo the calls of the Reed Warbler so that their parents can’t tell that they’re even a different species.
9. Lesser Honeyguide
Lesser Honeyguides usually lay their eggs at barbets’ nests but may also lay their eggs at the nests of kingfishers and starlings.
Their brood parasites will hatch with incredibly sharp hooked beaks, ready to kill from the moment they leave the egg.
They’ll attack other chicks in the host nest if they get a chance.
However, some birds, like the Black-collared Barbet, have grown to recognize the honeyguide and will crush them before they have a chance to do their worst.
10. Indigobird
Indigobirds are brood parasites native to Africa that steal nests from the Jameson’s Firefinch. They’ll lay their eggs inside the nest, then leave them for the firefinch to raise.
Their young even have markings on the inside of their mouths to mimic the mouths of the firefinch.
These markings are thought to help the parents find the chicks’ mouths when feeding in the dark.