Common Nesting Birds

meet your neighbors

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Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)

Photo © Maureen Sullivan

Nest with eggs

Photo © Ed Johnson

Adult male

Photo © Mason Maron / Macaulay Library

Female/immature

Photo © Alice Domalik / Macaulay Library

Adult (Olive-backed)

Photo © Miguel Aguilar @birdnomad / Macaulay Library

Juvenile

Photo © Jim Merritt / Macaulay Library

Adult male

Photo © Evan Lipton / Macaulay Library

Female/immature

Photo © Terry Karlin / Macaulay Library

Adult male

Photo © Paul Fenwick / Macaulay Library

Song

© Kevin J. Colver / Macaulay Library

Song

© William R. Fish / Macaulay Library

Song

© Wil Hershberger / Macaulay Library

Complex song

© Nathan Pieplow

Calls

© Kevin J. Colver / Macaulay Library

Calls

© Randolph Little / Macaulay Library

Calls

© Jay McGowan / Macaulay Library

Calls

© Gregory Budney / Macaulay Library

Flight calls

© Nick Roth / Macaulay Library

Song (Olive-backed)

© manuel grosselet / Macaulay Library

Song (Socorro)

© Nuria Meza / Macaulay Library

Calls (Socorro)

© Nuria Meza / Macaulay Library

When To Look

Source: Birds of the World

Where To Find It

Source: Birds of the World

Habitats

open woodland

shrub

Substrates

ground

What You'll Find

Nest Type

cup

Chick

Altricial

Clutch Size

2
5

Nest Height

5 ft
0 ft

Nesting Statistics

Incubation Period

12-13
days

Brooding Period

10-12
days

Useful Hints

  • Ground nests are built into depressions so that the nest rim is at the soil surface or only slightly above it.
  • They often choose fairly exposed areas over sites deep inside a thicket, but within these areas they find a clump of grass, a log, or the base of a shrub to conceal their nests against.
  • Only the female builds the nest, but both parents care for hatched young.

More Resources

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Cornell Lab of Ornithology