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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Where baby birds thrive: plush but precarious hangouts

Suspended nests with long entrances give fledglings more time to mature.
Baya weaver male perched on a tear-drop shaped nest

The Baya weaver (Ploceus philippinus) builds a pendent nest. Data suggest that pendent nests with long entrance tunnels can help to protect resident chicks. Credit: Ashish & Shanthi Chandola/Nature Picture Library

If there were an architecture prize for birds, pendent or ‘hanging basket’ nests would be the indisputable winners. Researchers have now found that these intricate hanging nurseries are not only fine examples of construction; they also help to keep chicks safe1.

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Nature 613, 219 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-04496-5

References

  1. Street, S. E., Jaques, R. & De Silva, T. N. Proc. R. Soc. B. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1734 (2022).

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