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