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Furnarius rufus
Together, the ovenbird couple build an interesting nest, in the shape of a clay oven, which can be easily identified at the top of trees and power lines in rural regions. Inside the nest there is a wall that separates the entrance and the incubator. It is built to reduce drafts and access to potential predators. They use, as raw material, the wet clay, dung and straw, whose proportions depend on the type of soil (if this is sandy, the amount of manure becomes larger than the land). The couple do not use the same nest for two seasons in a row, performing a rotation between two to three nests, sometimes repairing semi-destroyed old nests (when the juvenile birds are ready to fly, the birds destroy the entrance wall). When there is more room to build new nests, the birds build up (until 11) next to the old.
4 Comments
asergio these beat the Taj Mahal!
Oops, sorry. I haven't looked at my e-mail. I love these ovenbird nests too.
Sure, Ava, as I said in the other message, I am proud and flattered you chose it. Thank you.
asergio, thanks for joining the animal architecture mission. Is it OK that I used your other ovenbird nest picture as the cover picture?