15 Most Amazing Nests In The Animal World

when a couple are awaiting the arrival of their baby especially their first an awful lot of work we'll go into prepping the baby's room and it's not just humans who do this we know birds have nests but so do some other animals and many of them put the rooms we decorate for our human children to shame these are the most amazing nests in the animal world [Applause] number 15 woodpecker nest first up i never said it was going to be easy or fast and in the case of the woodpecker this is a big commitment a male and female pair of woodpeckers will work around the clock constructing their nest and it can take them up to 28 days to complete the task woodpeckers of course don't build their nests the same as most other birds [Music] with collected twigs but instead use their heads and beaks to drill a hole in a piece of dead wood the headache after a month of non-stop banging your head into a tree must be pretty significant the benefit of using dead wood trees is that the inner cavity is a little softer allowing for more elaborate designs and furnishings as the woodpecker also likes to line its new home with discarded wood chips which will help to keep the new family warm once their eggs hatch different woodpecker species have different sized nests of course ranging from the tiny downy woodpecker to the huge imperial woodpecker although this species is possibly extinct whatever the size woodpeckers return to the same home year upon year no surprise when you consider the effort to build it like this video smash the subscribe button and click the notification bell right now or this centipede will crawl on your face when you're sleeping [Music] now it's time for the juicy topic a beehive nest is a crazy crazy thing they serve many purposes such as the pollination of nearby crops and production of honey you might look at this and think that's not a nest that's a hive but let's get pedantic the term hive is used to mean man-made structures that house a honey bee nest the term nest is used to describe bee colonies that house themselves in artificial or natural cavities these nests are made up of mostly honeycombs that parallel to each other they are truly incredible and beautiful things though don't get too close as they are teeming with critters that will sting you senseless bees often live in their nests for many many years remember to comment down below with the hashtag juicytopic and let us know your opinion in relation to what we just showed on screen and now to the next topic number 14. vogelkop bowerbird the vogel cop bird is native to western new guinea and is also known as the gardner bird and with good reason this medium-sized bird measuring around 10 inches is not only a fantastic gardener but also an amazing architect as their name suggests these birds are adept at creating bowers which are cone-shaped huts in which the bird lives these huts can run to around 40 inches in height and 60 inches in diameter and are built around a central support of two long sticks not unlike simple human structures once this fantastic shelter has been built the male bower bird will clear a space of around three feet square in front of his home and begin laying moss as a kind of garden then the bower bird will begin to add some color beetle shells flowers fruit leaves and anything else colorful will be laid out in the artistic formation all with the intention of attracting a female bauer bird if rare and unusual items appear in the bowers habitat he will use them and if successful others will follow creating a kind of fashion industry where trends come and go depending on supply and demand and the rarity of the treasure if a male makes a good enough garden the female will mate with them and head off to raise his young and the male bowerbird will start all over again number 13. weaver ants weaver ants are native to parts of africa south asia and northern australia and are tree dwelling ants they are famous for their incredible nest building abilities which they weave together using silk a colony of weaver ants can grow to immense proportions with hundreds of interconnected nests spread across several trees and staffed by up to half a million worker ants these workers are divided into two types with the larger ones going out to forage and expand the colony as well as defend it from intruders in a highly aggressive manner while the smaller workers stay home and care for the young ants as well as farming other insects the nest building process however is truly amazing weaver ants will test a leaf for flexibility and if it seems good other ants will come and begin pulling it once the leaf is close to another the ants will pick up their own larvae and use them as glue guns squeezing them so their silk comes out and can be used to stick the leaves together if a leaf is too far away the ants will form a chain and pull it down until it can be stuck together this results in a large ball of living leaves all stuck together by ant baby glue and one of nature's most extraordinary nests number 12. tailor bird the taylor bird a small bird native to asia has maybe learned a thing or two from the weaver ants as this bird deploys a somewhat similar technique for building its nest this bird has a fine beak which it uses like a tailor's needle which is of course how it got its name the bird will select the leaf that has the right strength and flexibility and then it will begin to pierce holes in it once there's enough holes the tailored bird will pull the leaf towards another leaf which it has already made holes in and it will begin to stitch them together unfortunately unlike the ants it can't just squeeze one of its baby chicks and use it to stick things together so the tailor bird heads out to collect threat making use of spider silk from cobwebs and plant fibers it has stripped off with these it can sew an elaborate leaf nest and be well protected from the elements with tightly sewn together joints this leafy cradle is then filled with grass to make a warm and soft home for its chicks number 11. termites nest one of the greatest mysteries of all the natural world is how do tiny termites build their huge nests sometimes referred to as cathedrals these mounds can reach 17 feet high which is pretty impressive for a creature only one quarter of an inch long and which can barely stand to be in sunlight for a few moments so primitive is its carcass of course such a huge structure is not home to just one termite but a colony which can include as many as 2 million individuals the termites move massive amounts of water and soil into their colony every year and also work hard as farmers tending to a kind of fungus which occupies a large part of the mound and helps the ecosystem thrive this collective mind has the powers of a great architect and when the mound is disrupted the termites immediately spring to action and begin rebuilding the real action takes place in the large subterranean nest and the mound's main purpose is to send air through the chambers in the mound are constantly redesigned to create a balance of airflow and the walls although solid are porous to air and the structure works like a kind of bellows blowing important air down into the ground so the colony can breathe the termite mound is incredibly complex and one of nature's most mind-blowing nests number 10 european bee eater the european bee eater is a small brightly colored bird which lives in southern europe and the middle east it is migratory and heads to africa in the winter months they nest on sand banks and in groups rather than alone and usually these birds mate for life the pair will nest in a long vertical burrow which is dug into a sandbank or sometimes in riverbanks these tunnels can be as much as three feet deep and at the bottom is a chamber which serves as a nest sometimes the same pair of birds will return to the same nest in consecutive years but usually a new one is dug each time each clutch will be between 4 and 7 eggs and these are laid at intervals of 48 hours and then incubated for 3 weeks both parents and even older siblings will help with the raising of the chicks contributing to a real family atmosphere after around one month the young chicks will leave the nest and begin learning the skills necessary to become a flying bee hunter number 9. puffer fish back in 2012 a japanese photographer named yoji okada discovered something fishy going on down on the seabed and it had to do with white spotted puffer fish ukada came back with a team from a japanese nature show and before long david attenborough and the world class bbc nature crew were on hand to film this amazing creature and introduce it to the world these puffer fish create elaborate sand structures that look like geometrically perfect crop circles or spirographs [Music] and they do it all by wriggling their bodies and fins across the sand until it's perfectly aligned the crisscross pattern is highly elaborate and artistic and the fish doesn't stop there he likes to decorate it with carefully placed treasures usually bits of shiny shell or other colorful fragments once his work is done he will invite a mate into the circle and if she likes what she sees she will mate with them the nest takes about 10 days to build and is a serious undertaking for this four inch long fish they are believed to be the only species to engage in this kind of nest building something truly unique in nature number 8. caddisfly caddisflies are an order of insects containing some 14 500 species these ancient flies first evolved in the triassic period and these flies distant relatives of butterflies and moths are found all over the world with the greatest diversity in warmer regions among these many species are around 30 which have specialized nesting behavior in fact it is not the flies but their larvae which have the special skill which involved building an elaborate case the cases offer protection to the larvae as they move slowly from food source to food source their favorite meals being rotten leaves and shuffling around the hollows where the decaying plant matter accumulates would otherwise leave them vulnerable to predators the cases are made from silk which comes from the saliva glands the larvae will then add bits of other material for extra reinforcement with some of the most amazing designs incorporating snail shells some species build domes or nests and the variety of cases is extraordinary after a short time though they are abandoned and the larva takes on its adult caddisfly form number 7 edible nest swiftlet the edible nest swiftlet is a small bird measuring around 5.5 inches and it lives in southeast asia a member of the swift family it is blackish brown and has long narrow wings it lives in coastal areas as well as in the mountains of borneo the nest site is high on the cave's slippery walls and is an agile predator with its main prey being flying insects caught on the wing the swiftlets live in colonies usually in caves and they make their nests out of saliva which then solidifies this saliva nest sticks to the rock in the cave providing a solid nest environment for the bird and they usually measure about three inches across in here the birds will lay their two eggs the nests are famous worldwide due to their use in the chinese delicacy bird's nest soup the nests are soaked and steamed in water and then served as soup and the soup is believed to have many medicinal properties by the chinese including being a powerful aphrodisiac and effective at reducing phlegm the soup is very expensive but this hasn't saved the birds from near extinction due to over harvesting of this valuable dish number 6. ruby throated hummingbird the ruby ruby-throated hummingbird is a fairly common bird in the eastern parts of north america during the summer while in winter these birds migrate to mexico central america and florida the tiny birds measure about 3.5 inches with a wingspan of around 4.5 inches and these solitary creatures feed primarily on nectar from flowers their migration is pretty impressive considering that this bird has one of the highest metabolic rates of any animal with a heart rate of 1250 beats per minute being able to store enough fat for a 20 hour 800 kilometer flight over water is no easy task their nests are equally amazing tiny sculptures that are camouflaged as part of a tree branch and held together by spider silk the insides are velvety and spongy and they allow the nest to grow as the young birds grow male ruby-throated hummingbird parents play no role in caring for the eggs or chicks always offering a snug fit the camouflage is provided by an outer edge coating of gray and green lichens and they are usually sent high up in the trees creating one of the safest nests in the world number 5. baya weaver the baya weaver species of weaver bird is found across southeast asia and the indian subcontinent these birds are about the size of a sparrow and have a yellow or golden color mixed with brown the males become more brightly colored when they are breeding these birds live in flocks and are highly social foraging and working together to eat and survive their main diet is butterflies and other insects but they will also eat geckos frogs and mollusks these birds are considered highly intelligent and have been trained by humans for many centuries performing tricks which amazed europeans when they began travelling the subcontinent in the 16th century their nests are perhaps a reflection of this intelligence [Music] and they are quite unusual often seen hanging from thorny trees over water they build a coconut-like helmet first and then the male nest builder will head off to find a mate once successful he will build a kind of entrance shoot which hangs down and offers further protection to the birds most amazingly the birds make the nests partially from clay and mud and they occasionally use the clay to stick fireflies to the walls creating an extra romantic ambience for the beo weaver's new lady friend number four montezuma or a pendula another bird which likes to build hanging nests is the montezuma or pandola and this time it's a new world bird living in mexico panama honduras costa rica and nicaragua the bird is named for the aztec emperor montezuma iii and is brightly colored on the head but with brown and yellow feathers on the body they have a particular and loud song which is well known in the region as is the site of these birds hanging nests and colonies tend to cluster together meaning as much as 170 nests hanging from trees in a small area unlike a lot of birds the montezuma or a pandola does not tolerate brewed parasites and is also quite aggressive in defending its territory in fact these birds are more aggressive than most with the males competing for hierarchical dominance and breeding rights in a manner more accustomed to mammals than birds not allowing anything else near their nests reduces the chances for symbiotic defenses with other species from predators but these birds will often choose to nest next to wasps who do a lot of the defensive work on behalf of the birds leaving them time to feed and raise their young in relative peace number three swallow the swallow is one of the most widespread birds in the world living on every continent even antarctica at times they have lived close to humans for aeons and have always been tolerated due to being insect eaters who when present help crops to survive they are also some of the most mythical and legendary birds and have been important to many cultures including classical rome and have long been seen as a sign of good fortune to sailors in fact upon circumnavigation of the globe a royal navy sailor would be entitled to have a swallow tattooed on his arm as a mark of his extensive voyage natural swallow nests are either made of mud or tunneled into soft material on cliff faces however human destruction of their habitats has left many swallow species critically endangered some other species have moved in the opposite direction and almost completely abandoned natural nesting in favor of human-built habitats such as the house martin which lives in barns and church spires other swallow nests are now constructed specifically for the birds hoping to give this legendary but much depleted bird a chance of survival number 2. the red oven bird the red oven bird is the national bird of both uruguay and argentina it is native to south america and these birds are now a common sight in cities and towns having adapted well to sharing a habitat with humans the birds nests are amazing structures which look like small ovens made of clay oven birds partner for life and a pair of birds will work like crazy to get their nests up together in time building it takes around two weeks and during this time these small birds will shift around 2 000 mud pellets and shape them into a dome that weighs around 10 pounds some heavy lifting the adobe home starts as a kind of cup shape but then is built up into a sphere which has a circular entrance slash exit on one side the mud pellets add a smoothness but also must be carefully applied to ensure there is no risk of collapse of their home within a second chamber is built around three quarters of the height of the outer wall offering a double security against predators who have to negotiate two complex doors to access the inner sanctum this is a real high security nest and these loving birds can raise their young and peace year after year number one sociable weaver bird another weaver bird but this time with a very different approach to nest building unlike most of the birds on this list in fact unlike most birds in general the social weaver bird of southern africa lives in a community nest not merely one constructed for a breeding pair these nests are huge and truly spectacular housing up to 100 pairs of breeding birds the nests are built as an elaborate series of chambers which have a cooling system allowing the interior of the nest to remain at around 45 fahrenheit while outside could be up to 90 fahrenheit the nests usually lie between a pair of acacia trees but also sometimes between telephone poles they are built for the long term and may last for more than a hundred years housing many generations of the birds on the bottom of the nest are the entrances of which there are many and it gives the nest the appearance of a honeycomb the birds place sharp sticks around the entrance holes to deter predators these birds are actually increasing in population as more and more convenient man-made structures appear in their habitat however these nests can catch fire and cause short circuits when they are built on electricity pylons so it's important humans replant the lost acacia trees so they can maintain their traditional habitats and amazing architectural skills how about all these natural architectural wonders which of these nests impressed you the most are any of them common where you live let us know in the comments below also check out our other cool stuff showing up on screen right now see you next time

Channel: The Genius Lemon

Views: 528,389

Rating: 4.8317943 out of 5

Keywords: animal nests, animals, nest, bird nest, animal, nests, structures built by animals, wild animals, bird nests, amazing nests, most amazing nests in the animal world, bird building a nest, giant nests, wild animal, animal kingdom, animal world, birds building nests, rare animals, incredible animal nests, most amazing nests, best animal moms, nests in the world, animals that build nests other than birds, the world's largest nest, animal houses, animal planet, animal structures

Id: ArRILwSzXRQ

Length: 22min 16sec (1336 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 18 2021