RECENTLY UPDATED!
I have just posted a review of a fabulous new book for anyone interested in bird’s nests. The book is “Avian Architecture; How Birds Design, Engineer & Build” by Peter Goodfellow. If you really want to know how birds build these incredible nests, it is a must read!
IMPORTANT: IF YOU FIND EGGS BY THEMSELVES OR IN A NEST DO NOT TOUCH THEM! LEAVE THEM WHERE THEY ARE!
Many times, even if you find an egg on the ground, all by itself, with no nest around, it may be a species of bird that uses a scrape nest (just a simple scrape in the dirt) and they will return to lay more eggs until they have a full clutch before they start incubating the eggs. Please do not disturb nests or eggs that you may discover.
If you have found a nest or bird eggs you would like to have identified, please send me an email with the following information:
- The city and state where the nest was discovered
- The habitat and location of the nest (i.e. deciduous or pine forest, grassland, marsh, farm or city and nest was in a bush or tree, on the ground, in my potted plant or in the seat of the tractor)
- A description of the nest, what the nest is made of and its dimensions
- What the eggs look like, color, size, shape and how many eggs in the nest
If you can get a photo of the nest and eggs, with a coin in the photo for size comparison, it will facilitate the identification. I enjoy the stories of nest discoveries and urge you to leave a comment below to share with other readers so that we can all learn from your experience.
If you are going to put up nestboxes and monitor them, it is important to know what species of bird is nesting in your birdhouses. I have put together a small sampling of the eggs and nests of the birds that I have nesting in my nestboxes.
Western Bluebird Nest and Ash-throated Flycatcher Nest 
The Ash-throated flycatcher nest (above) is made up of grass, weeds, fur and hair. Sometimes containing some cow or horse dung.
The Western Bluebird nest (left) is a collection of fine grasses and sometimes include a feather or two, leaves and thin bark. It has a fairly shallow cup with, if your lucky, up to seven pale blue eggs.
Tree Swallow Nest and House Sparrow Nest
The house sparrow nest (above) is a jumble of course grasses and weeds with seed heads and (in this case) Emu feathers that completely fill the nestbox. The nest will form a tunnel from the entrance hole almost to the bottom of the box. The tree swallow nest (left) will look similar to the western bluebird with many more feathers. In this case the swallows had lots of goose feathers nearby.
Oak Titmouse Nest and House Finch Nest
The Oak Titmouse nest (left) is made of grasses and moss, with fine hair and/or fur and sometimes small feathers making a deep cup for the eggs. The House Finch nest (right) is made of fine hair (horse hair in this nest) woven into a perfect bowl.
Cavity Nester’s Egg Comparison
These eggs are all fairly shiny after the mother has been sitting on them for any length of time. Note the subtle differences between the Ash-throated Flycatcher’s egg and the House Sparrow’s egg. The House Sparrow egg has a cream, green or grayish background with irregular fine brown speckles whereas the Flycatcher’s eggs have an ivory or tan background with streaks or blotches of dark brown, purple or gray, heavier at the large end of the egg.
House Sparrows are a non-native, invasive species in North America and are not protected by law. They will take over nest boxes and chase off or kill native birds. There are several things you can do to protect your nest boxes against this invader. For extensive information on this subject, please visit my friend Bet Zimmerman’s Page.
American Kestrel Nest and Eggs
This is a photo I took while helping my friend Steve monitor some of his American Kestrel boxes. He has over 75 Kestrel boxes he monitors every year, this being only a small percentage of the nest boxes he monitors. The American Kestrel lays 4 to 5 smooth, non-glossy, cream colored eggs, about twice the size of a Western Bluebird egg, with irregular brown spots. Notice they have only a small amount of sawdust as nesting material.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Nest and Eggs
Here is a great photo of a hummingbird nest from my friend Nina over at Nature Remains. Go check out the entire photo story at her site. The typical hummingbird nest is tiny, about the size of half an English walnut shell. They are usually built on a small forked branch about the size of a pencil. The outer part is covered with moss and plant fibers to camouflage the nest. Sometimes it is shingled with lichens like this one. The rest of the nest is made of plant down and spider webs. Not just any spider webs either. Hummingbirds use only fresh spider webs made the same day, before any bugs are trapped in the webbing. Successful nests are usually built in a site that is out of the wind so the hummer moms can more easily control the nest temperature
American Robin Nest and Eggs
This photo of an American Robin sitting on the nest was taken by my brother at his home in Lake Tahoe. Robins will often build their nests on man-made structures in urban areas if other natural sites are not available. Rain gutters and any type of ledge, like this electric meter, will suffice.
The female selects the site and builds the nest which may be placed anywhere from the ground to the tree tops. She constructs the outer wall with dead grass and twigs, then brings in mud to reinforce the edge of the nest. Finally she will line the cup with fine dead grass.
House Finch Nest and Eggs
The House Finch is one of the most common backyard birds in the United States. Their nest sites include pine, spruce, and palm trees; cactus; rock ledges; vents, ledges, or ivy on buildings (including especially parking structures); street lamps; hanging planters; and abandoned nests of other birds. This nest was found in my neighbor’s hanging planter on her back porch. Read my post here.
This is a House Finch nest that has been parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds. The cowbird eggs are the larger, brown speckled eggs.
Killdeer Nest and Eggs
This is a typical Killdeer nest and eggs. The nest begins as a simple scrape in the ground but as laying and incubation progress, rocks, bits of shell, weed stems, or other material are added. Killdeer commonly nest on graveled road shoulders and in parking lots as well as on flat graveled rooftops. See my post here.
Carolina Wren Nest and Eggs
Here are some photos sent to me from Katherine in Atlanta, Georgia, of a Carolina Wren nest and eggs she found in her daughter’s playset refrigerator.
Isn’t that amazing nest construction? Look how well placed those leaves are around the perimeter.
Here is a better photo of the Carolina Wren eggs
We hope for a successful outcome with the possibility of five new Carolina Wrens for the state of Georgia!
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Here is another Carolina Wren nest and eggs in a hanging basket from Judy in Texas. Notice the typical domed style used by this species when the nest is not in a confined space like a nest box or the “refrigerator” above
Here is a shot of the eggs through the domed entrance
And a close up of the eggs where you can see what looks like a snake skin
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More Carolina Wrens from Kirsten in Texas. This nest was discovered in a folded up lawn chair. Thanks for the great photos Kirsten!
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Check out this Carolina Wren nest found by Laura in North Carolina. It was in a sweatshirt hanging on the clothesline.
Carolina Wren nests are typically 6 feet or less off the ground. They are often bulky and constructed loosely of bark strips, dried grasses, dead leaves, oak catkins, sticks, pine needles, mosses, hair, feathers, light straw, wool clumps, shed snake skin, paper, plastic, and string.
Northern Cardinal Nest, Eggs and Nestlings
These photos of the Northern Cardinal nest, eggs and nestlings were sent to me by one of my readers, Cindy Griffin. You can visit her Flickr page here.
The nest not attached to the substrate; it is wedged into position. The bowl-shaped structure is composed of 4 layers: a rough outer material, leafy mat, grapevine bark, and grassy lining. It may contain weed stems, pliable twigs, strips of bark, grasses, vines, rootlets, leaves, and pine needles. Paper and plastic are common in the outer cup as seen in this nest.
Here you can see the pine straw making up the inner cup
And two healthy newborn nestlings!
Northern Mockingbird Nest and Eggs
Daryl’s tractor quit on him in the field last November and when the weather got good enough for him to check it out, he found this Northern Mockingbird nest had been built in the fan shroud.
This Northern Mockingbird nest was discovered by Kim in Orlando Florida, in the crotch of a pear tree.
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Nest and Eggs
This beautiful Flycatcher breeds regularly from southeastern Colorado, southeastern New Mexico, south Nebraska, southwestern Missouri, western Arkansas, and western Louisiana south through southern Texas. This is a photo of the eggs and nest from Michael in Texas.
And more great photos of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher from Denise in Oklahoma City
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Eggs
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher chicks in Nest
Chipping Sparrow Nest and Eggs
This is a photo of Chipping Sparrow eggs and chicks from Lew.
Eastern Kingbird Nest and Eggs
These photos from Jodie in New York shows the diversity of nests built by Eastern Kingbirds. This one built in a roll of rope on top of a slide.
Hooded Oriole Nest
This is a Hooded Oriole Nest attached to the underside of a giant Bird of Paradise leaf, submitted by Chris in Carlsbad California.
Orchard Oriole
This is a photo sent in by Wendy from Averill Park New York of an Orchard Oriole nest
Red-eyed Vireo Nest
Dalila submitted these great photos of a Red-eyed Vireo nest from southern Ontario, Canada. You can see the original photos on her blog here.
California Quail Eggs and Nest
This photo was sent to me by my friend Amber Galusha. They are California Quail eggs found right next to her driveway. You can see the full story on her blog.
For an in depth look at bird eggs there is a great resource at The Royal Albert Museum .
98 responses so far ↓
1 Anna Beth // Mar 27, 2009 at 7:38 am
I think this was helpful but I have an egg I can’t identify…. I thought it might be a tree swallow, but my egg is too big for that. I just found it- on March 27. Can someone please help? Thanks!
2 Larry // Mar 28, 2009 at 6:24 am
@Anna Beth I would love to help you but I would need to see a photo of the egg with something in the photo to be able to size it. It would also help to have some idea of were you found it and the surrounding habitat. You can also check out the Royal Albert Museum’s Virtual Egg Exhibit.
3 Peter // Apr 7, 2009 at 5:40 pm
I was shed antler hunting last wknd. and found an interesting nest. I was hiking Platte R. bottomland in E. Nebraska.
I don’t see a way to add an attachment on this spot, but would gladly send a close-up pic. to an e-mail adr.
This was a tightly woven basket, 8 in. long with a narrow opening, attached to a single branch with a single woven strand.
4 Larry // Apr 7, 2009 at 8:47 pm
@Peter you can send me a picture to: Larry@TheBirdersReport.com and I would be happy to try to help you out with the ID
5 Stephanie // Apr 27, 2009 at 7:57 am
Found in North Central Florida small pink eggs with irregular red to brown spots in an abandoned shed with feathers and litter including an old snake skin for nesting material. The nest was ill-formed at best…mostly loose litter around the eggs. Can you give a guess as to the identification of the mama bird?
6 Larry // Apr 27, 2009 at 9:17 pm
@Stephanie my guess would be a House Wren but you are a bit too far south for that in Florida. Maybe a Carolina Wren? Check out my friend Bet’s page here and see if either one looks like what you saw.
7 Dave // May 11, 2009 at 2:36 am
Found in Eastern PA…eggs the size of normal chicken eggs (the kind you eat for breakfast) but in a pale blue color. No nest around that we can see. Any idea what bird might come from this egg? Thank you.
8 Larry // May 11, 2009 at 7:56 pm
@Dave my guess would be an Araucana chicken. These chickens lay pastel blue or green eggs. See this wikipedia article.
9 Lisa H. // May 24, 2009 at 5:15 am
I am interesed in getting these eggs i.d.
We found them in a baseball field. Mama bird was near by and was very loud when we came close to the nest. I think this the same bird that ‘pretends’ to have a broken wing, so we attack mom, not the eggs. I am from the Chicagoland area. I have a pix I can attach. I attached thru facebook, not sure if it is gonna work. I can email to someone.
10 Larry // May 24, 2009 at 7:18 pm
@Lisa from your description of the “broken wing” trick and the photo link you sent it is definitely a Killdeer. Take a look at this Wikipedia article.
11 Renee // May 26, 2009 at 5:02 am
My husband spotted an egg yesterday while mowing. At first sight, he thought it might be a mushroom, but when he got closer, realized it was an egg. A single egg, the size of a large chicken egg, in the long grass. It was white with light brown mottling. I looked at the Kildeer link, but the brown mottling is much too dark (we do have many Kildeer in the area). We live in South-Central Wisconsin, in a wetlands-prairie type area. Can you help with this?
12 Bill Legg // Jul 19, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I found a large mud and stick nest in a small pine tree, 12in wide and 12in deep, with a stick canopy. Nest was lined with feathers, adult magpie wing feathers, but I don’t think it is a magpie nest. any thoughts
Bill
13 Penny // Aug 23, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I am lucky to have so many hummingbirds come to my feeders. I love watching them eat and sit and preen. Are they likely just one family, or lots who happen to fly by?
14 Larry // Aug 23, 2009 at 9:50 pm
@Penny your visitors are likely several families of hummingbirds. During the spring and fall you will get migrating birds that visit your feeders to fuel up for the remaining journey to their breeding grounds.
Hummingbirds you have during the summer or winter could be breeding near you depending on the species and where you live.
Anna’s Hummingbirds breed in winter or early spring, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are known to have two broods per season.
15 jim nagle // Oct 25, 2009 at 7:13 am
found on my front lawn perfect white egg measuring 4cm x 3cm..size of small chicken egg. No trees in the area. This is san antonio, texas. any ideas?
16 Larry // Oct 25, 2009 at 5:42 pm
You have any neighbors with Bantam Chicken hens?
Just kidding. If you could send me a photo of the egg with a dime or quarter next to it, that would help. That way I can see the shape of the egg too.
17 Lauren // Feb 21, 2010 at 10:58 pm
What wold a Roadrunner be doing living in a residential neighborhood in South Florida? We have one. So far none of the birding communities have shed much light on it. It obviously didn’t fly here so why is it here?
18 Quinlan DeVal // Mar 11, 2010 at 4:21 pm
Hi,
I found a light brown egg with about 10-20 darker brown splotches on it. It was tucked right beside a bush (I think it was a rhododendron if it matters) between a few roots. It’s about the size of a lacrosse ball and I’m not sure what it was. If you could help me that would be great.
19 Danielle // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:56 pm
I found a light brown or tan egg with dark brown spots on it. It was in a field right beside my house. There were four eggs. I don’t know if they’re even bird eggs. Does anyone know what it could be?
20 Christine // Apr 13, 2010 at 8:35 am
I found seven eggs this morning in my yard. They were scattered in different locations. They are the size of a medium egg but are whitish gray in color. What are these??
21 Petria O'Reilly // Apr 14, 2010 at 7:46 pm
I live next to a large lake in East Texas. I found a nest of abandoned eggs in a flower bed around the condos where I live. I’m fairly sure that they were abandoned because the gardeners trimmed back all of the grasses and bushes leaving them unprotected. There are 21 of them. They are the size and shape of a small chicken egg…rounded at one in and more pointed at the other. They are very light greyish to cream color without any other markings. The “nest” was just a slightly hollowed out indentation on the ground, in dirt and dried grass. We have mallards on the lake, but I know what their eggs look like, and I don’t think that they lay this many eggs. We also have American Coots, but the descriptions that I read, these don’t seem to belong to the Coot either. I am very curious. Can you help with this identification? Thank you so much.
22 Caitlin // Apr 18, 2010 at 1:05 pm
I need help identifying the type of bird in the eggs I just found. In one of my hanging potted plants there is a neat nest. Inside there are four eggs that are white with blue spots. Does anyone know what kind of bird this is?
23 melanie // Apr 18, 2010 at 7:55 pm
My kids and I discovered a tan egg with black spots. We found it in our parking strip it consist of river bed rocks. It is a fairly big egg, not as big as a chicken egg, but compared to a coin it is big. What kinds of birds lay eggs in rocky areas?
I would appreciate your thoughts.
24 Larry // Apr 18, 2010 at 9:03 pm
@Caitlin the bird most likely to nest in your hanging potted plant is the House Finch. Check my post here:
http://www.thebirdersreport.com/camera-critters/house-finch-chicks-peep-for-camera-critters-34
25 Larry // Apr 18, 2010 at 9:06 pm
@Melanie the most common bird to lay eggs in rocky areas is the Killdeer. Check my post on the Killdeer here:
http://www.thebirdersreport.com/wild-birds/bird-sightings/killdeer-the-noisy-plover
26 Debbie // May 14, 2010 at 5:59 pm
My neighbor has a birds nest attached to the side of her brick house. It’s half round and about 6″ long, looked like small twigs. The baby bird was peeking out but not chirping. The mother was close by. I couldn’t see her good, light brown, dark head. A broken egg on the ground was tan with brown speckles. Any idea what kind of bird’s nest it is?
27 Larry // May 14, 2010 at 8:57 pm
@Debbie this sounds like a Barn Swallow nest to me. I have sent you a couple of photos of what they look like. It would be fun to watch them raise their young!
28 Katherine // May 19, 2010 at 11:27 am
I have a nest that has been built in my children’s outdoor playhouse in the kitchen playset refrigerator. We first only found one egg but the next day there are two. The eggs look like either the house sparrow (which I hope it is not) or the ash-throated flycatcher, but would they be in the Northern Atlanta area? The nest has somewhat of a tunnel for an entrance but really deep. It is made of pine straw, leaves and mud. Do I leave them be? Will they find their way out when they are ready to leave the nest? Your help is appreciated!
29 Larry // May 19, 2010 at 8:03 pm
@Katherine I’m sorry to say but it sure sounds like a House Sparrow to me. They are
the only species to build the deep tunnel nest. The Great Crested Flycatcher would be the flycatcher you would have in Atlanta.
The House Sparrow eggs here in California usually have an olive greenish background and it looks like the flycatcher back there has a darker splotched egg.
When I find House Sparrow nests, I wait until they are incubating the eggs and I remove the eggs and nest. If they start building another nest, I do the same thing again until they no longer nest there. I never let them
hatch eggs, ever.
Before taking such drastic measures, you must be sure the nesting birds are House Sparrows by actually seeing them on or around the nest. House Sparrows and European Starlings are the only non-native birds not protected by law in the USA. See my post here: http://www.thebirdersreport.com/wild-birds/feeding-wild-birds/the-insidious-invaders-house-sparrows-starlings
Great Crested Flycatcher nests are shallow (not tunnel like) lined with hair, fur, feathers and/or other fine material.
I hope this helps. Let me know what you find out and if you observe the birds in the nest. Here is another way to render the eggs infertile if it is indeed a House Sparrow nest. See my friend Bet’s webpage here: http://www.sialis.org/hosp.htm#infertile
I really hope it is a flycatcher nest but if it is a deep tunnel it is
probably a House Sparrow
30 falfal // May 23, 2010 at 7:31 pm
ok so…i found this one little single egg no nest or anything around so i took it home and i am keeping itn warm and stuff….but i have NO idea what to feed it (if it hatched) because i dont know what kind it is
* it is brownish grayish sorta
* it had 3 meduim sized bleach spots and it ovalish
*its a TINY bit smaller than a chicken egg HELP ME PLSSS
31 Suzy // May 24, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Today I found a tiny nest made almost completely of horse hair. The horses are in the pasture behind my house so this makes sense. It has one motley looking feather woven in and a couple of short pieces of pine needles (?). It is 2 1/4″ in circumference and 1 1/4″ deep. It’s shaped like a wren’s nest but I think much too small to be that. No eggs (thank goodness), and no remnants of eggs. Thank you for any help you can give.
32 Larry // May 25, 2010 at 8:39 am
Update on Katherine’s Nest She has a Carolina Wren nesting in her kitchen playset refrigerator! How cool is that?
I’m sure the wrens will have no problem getting in and out of the place where they built the nest.
The incubation period for the Carolina Wren is 12-14 days, incubation done by the female. Once they hatch, the chicks are tended by both the male and female and fledge in another 12-14 days.
Once the chicks are ready to leave the nest, I’m sure the parents will show them the way out. In the meantime, I would leave the nest just the way you found it.
33 Larry // May 25, 2010 at 9:17 am
@falfal to actually raise a wild bird from an egg is nearly impossible. The eggs would have to be incubated for the appropriate amount of time at the right temperature and humidity for the species and then if hatched, would have to be fed many times each hour until they were able to leave the nest. At that point, most birds need a parent to teach the young how to forage for food and survive.
Many birds early in the season will simply begin another nest and try again if they lose a nest. If you want to contact a wildlife rehabilitation organization you can go to the website below by clicking on this link and put in your city and state and get a list of rehabers near you but my guess is that they will give you the same information about raising wild birds from eggs.
My advise on bird eggs found is to leave them where they are and let nature take its course.
34 Larry // May 25, 2010 at 9:24 am
@Suzy it sure sounds like a House Finch nest to me. Check my post here:
http://www.thebirdersreport.com/camera-critters/house-finch-chicks-peep-for-camera-critters-34
35 Lisa // May 26, 2010 at 4:18 pm
My son brought home a beige speckled egg. The speckles are dark brown. The egg is larger then a quarter. The mama tried to lure away my sons friend. They said the bird was black and white with orange underfeathers. My son is now trying to hatch the egg. Any suggestions?
36 Larry // May 26, 2010 at 10:23 pm
@Lisa it sounds like a Killdeer egg. The Killdeer parent plays like they have a broken wing to draw predators away from the nest. See my post here: http://www.thebirdersreport.com/wild-birds/bird-sightings/killdeer-with-their-young
You should never remove an egg from where it lays. Killdeer lay their eggs in a rocky scrape so maybe your son didn’t know it was a nest.
The best thing to do would be to place the egg back where it was found if possible. See my comment above. To raise a baby wild bird fro an egg is nearly impossible.
37 Terence Wade // Jun 13, 2010 at 11:34 am
I found egg shells beneath a silver oak tree in Hemet California outside our house and would like to know what bird species they belong to.
They are pale blue, like a bluebird egg, but probably the length of a silver dollar instead of a dime.
If you know what they are, I would appreciate your reply.
Thank you,
Terence
38 Joanne // Jun 23, 2010 at 12:42 pm
I found a scrap of a nest next to (or sort of under my pool equip on the ground here in Henderson, Nevada. It was mad of up of dried leave and yard mess. The egg is tan with brown speckles and about 1 & 1/4 in long and approx 1 ” wide and it was very pointy on the end. I found it among broken egg shells and then started digging around just to see what was used to build the next. That was when I found the whole egg under all the broken stuff. We do have quail around here, pigeons and doves. Just curious who was so brave to build in that location.
39 Lew // Jun 25, 2010 at 5:30 pm
I have pics taken today (6-25-10) of a Carolina Chickadee nest with three just hatched babies and two unhatched eggs. Yesterday there were five unhatched eggs. How can I send these pics to you?
40 Lew // Jun 25, 2010 at 6:19 pm
10:00 pm update on 5:30 entry above:
Went out to see if female was sleeping on the nest and appears to be a Carolina Wren. Egg size and coloration, and the newly hatched babies fit the description of a Carolina Chickadee (according to Cornell Lab Life History info). Now I’m confused—–HELP please!
41 Irene // Jul 4, 2010 at 9:23 am
Was checking my birdhouses and found a nest built of twigs and some soft material inside, feathers etc. There were 6 eggs in it. The color was pinkish and brown. Can’t seem to be able to identify them. Can you help?
42 Larry // Jul 4, 2010 at 2:28 pm
@Irene it sounds like a House Wren nest to me. I emailed you some photos and information on the House Wren for you to check.
43 Destiny McMullen // Jul 12, 2010 at 2:53 pm
I found two eggs in my garden just laying on the ground. I think they may be Tree Swallows. Although they might be Oak titmouses. Can you help me?
thanks!
44 Larry // Jul 14, 2010 at 9:08 pm
@Destiny please see the opening paragraph for the information I need to help you identify your eggs
45 linda // Jul 16, 2010 at 11:07 am
I was shocked to see the bird nest in the upper inside corner of my porch gone yesterday! Not a sign! There were eggs in there and much activity by parents until the dissappearance. No children around here or humans to get this nest. What could have stolen the whole thing?
46 Mark // Jul 23, 2010 at 2:38 pm
I found a nest on the ground in Bristol, Va. It was in some brush about knee high, but it wasn’t very well hidden. I have found nests on the ground before but these eggs were slightly larger than a chicken egg and a light brownish color. I found no feather or evidence of the type of occupant. Does anyone know what type of bird this would be?
47 Nest Box Season Ends | The Birders Report // Jul 29, 2010 at 10:02 pm
[...] Egg And Nest Identification [...]
48 lisa pierce // Aug 6, 2010 at 11:26 am
i am sending a pic of a nest that i believe is abandoned. there is an egg inside!
is there anything i can do for it? *going to cell phone to email picture*
49 Dalila // Jan 3, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Hi Larry, thanks for sharing the nests and eggs! I found a nest in southern Ontario (near Brighton ON) in January. There are no eggs at this time of the year. I thought of an oriole nest because it’s hanging but it’s only in a shrub. Here’s a link to a large photo of it and there’s also one on the website link. Thanks! http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalilas/5322036646/
50 Larry // Jan 5, 2011 at 7:32 pm
@Dalila I have sent you an email and commented on your post. This looks like a typical Red-eyed Vireo nest. They love to use birch bark and line their nests with pine needles.
51 Michaele Harris // Jan 20, 2011 at 12:04 pm
My neigbor has 7-8 birdnest that suspend freely from branchs. The nest consist of mainly horse hair with possibly some grasses inter-twinned. You can see through the nest and its about the size of a pear. We live in San Joquine Valley along foothills in California. I had never notice them before, but found one on the ground after a storm broke a branch. Can you tell me what kind of bird would build a nest like this?
52 Lindsey // Mar 11, 2011 at 11:54 am
I have a dozen birdhouses on tree trunks that get heavily used by house wrens, western blue birds, and swallows. 2 years ago I noticed chipmunks were robbing their eggs so I put up metal flashing around the tree trunk. It appears the chipmunks now cannot thieve. But when I cleaned out the houses this week I noticed none had any egg shells in the nests. Does that mean we had no successful hatches? I swear I’ve heard babies peeping. Do mama birds take out egg shells or eat them?
53 Larry // Mar 11, 2011 at 6:53 pm
@Michaele these sound like Bullock’s Oriole nests to me. Several pair may build nests in close proximity to one another. Check out my post on these beautiful birds here.
@Lindsey most cavity nesting birds eat and/or remove the egg shells from the birdhouse. They also remove the fecal sacs up until the very end so the nest stays pretty clean.
54 Kristen // Apr 2, 2011 at 9:19 am
I have a nest with 4 eggs in a hanging plant on my front porch. The nest looks to be made of dead grass with some kind of plush materail that looks like stuffing mixed in. The eggs are not as dark blue as the robin egg but they are darker than the house finch egg. They also have little small darker colored, possibly dark blue, spots all over them like the house finch does. I can not find a pic that looks like them anywhere. Can you help me with id’ing them please? Thanks in advance for any help.
55 Izzy xx // Apr 8, 2011 at 11:10 am
Hey, I found this odd nest in my garden. It was a hollow nest with a tiny hole in it just big enough for the bird to fit through. I opened it (I know I shouldn’t have but I couldn’t resist). I tipped it up and about eight light pink eggs with faded brown speckles on fell out. Absolutely tiny, about as big as a 5p coin. I’ve kept 2 because all the others were smashed. Also in the nest was tons and tons of feathers. I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me what sort of bird they were. Thanks. P.S: I live in Suffolk, Bury St Edmunds.
56 Larry // Apr 8, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Hey Izzy, what are you daft? You should NEVER disturb a nest anytime during the nesting season. The U.S. and several other countries (including Britain I believe) have a law known as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that protects bird nests and eggs.
Please do not disturb birds nests unless you KNOW they are not being used, which is probably hardly ever, and NEVER during the breeding season.
I’m afraid I don’t know enough about UK birds and their nests to offer you any help with your identification.
57 Cathy // Apr 14, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Today I found an egg that had fallen out of the nest. It is about as long as my thumb, completely white and oval shaped. My questions are, what kind of a bird and should I incubate and raise the bird? I live in Middle TN. I feel like I shouldn’t have picked up the egg, but it is still a life.
58 Larry // Apr 17, 2011 at 6:11 am
@Cathy regarding your question on incubating and hatching the egg you found, my advice is to not even try. It is practically impossible to hatch and rear a wild bird from an egg. Even if you could keep the egg at the correct temperature and humidity to hatch it, the bird won’t be able to survive without its parents teaching it how to find food and escape predators. My advice in these situations is to simply let nature take its course.
One thing you may do if you find an egg that you know has fallen out of a nest, in other words, it is laying under a nest that you can see above where the egg is found, you can attempt to put it back in the nest. Birds other than some vultures, have no sense of smell, so you can place the egg back into the nest to allow it a chance of hatching, making sure, or course, that it looks like the other eggs in the nest.
59 Anthony // Apr 17, 2011 at 11:07 am
Hey, I was In some creek or man made ditch or something, with a tunnel, shallow water, and inside there are these mud nests, they looked like little cottages! With the door way shaped like a tunnel big enough for the bird to get through, one nest I can see the eggs, there like a light green with brown specks. The nests are amazing! There were multiple nests stuck together it looked like on colossal nest but I saw the little tunnel doorways. I haven’t heard any babies winging or chirping, the eggs are about the length of a nickel, but oval shaped, there was 2 or 3 in each nest (I was only able to peak in a few)
60 Tony // Apr 17, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Found a small nest in my bush next to my front door while trimming the bushes. Has 4 small light blue eggs with brown specs/blotches on it. Haven’t seen any birds around the nest all day but not gonna touch it just trying to figure out what type of bird it may be. Nest is made of mostly pine straw but also has man made material woven in it (polyester fibers like you might find in a jacket and maybe some cotton). Took a couple pictures of the eggs if there is anyway I can post them. Eggs the size of a grape tomato.
61 Larry // Apr 17, 2011 at 3:16 pm
@Anthony those are Cliff Swallows. Check out my post here
62 Larry // Apr 17, 2011 at 3:37 pm
@Tony that could be a Northern Mockingbird but not knowing where you live or the size of the nest I can’t be sure. You can send me an email with photos attached
63 Anthony // Apr 17, 2011 at 8:19 pm
The nest look similar, but those aren’t the birds, they were a dark color, as the eggs were a blue green, with brown dots, mostly near the largest part of the egg, it was in Gridley, Ca near Sacramento, and Chico, but this area doesn’t have large buildings like sacramento, though the nests were right under a freeway.
64 Jordan // Apr 18, 2011 at 4:38 pm
There is a tiny gray bird that is building a nest in one of our coastal redwood trees.The nest is made up of spider webs,grass,and the like.The nest is hanging from a branch and is similar to an orioles nest.Could someone please help?
65 Larry // Apr 18, 2011 at 8:04 pm
@Jordan it sounds like a Bushtit nest but without more information it’s hard to say. Check out this post on Bushtits
66 Amber Mill // Apr 21, 2011 at 2:30 pm
I have a nest in the bush right next to my front door.2 of the eggs have dark brown speckles all over the egg but the other 6 eggs are white with light brown speckles concentrated at the bottom of the egg. I have watched the nest for 4 days for 2 days there were only the 6 eggs and I never saw the mother but today I looked at the nest and the other two eggs are there. I saw the mother and it looked like a house sparrow. Is it possible that she took over the nest but kept the other 6 eggs?
67 Amber Mill // Apr 21, 2011 at 2:32 pm
P.S
I live in Charlotte, North Carolina
68 Larry // Apr 21, 2011 at 9:27 pm
@Amber house sparrow eggs are usually a darker background (green or grayish) with dark speckles all over. It sounds like you have a song bird nest that has been parasitized by a Brown-headed Cowbird. Cowbirds lay their eggs in other bird’s nests so the host bird feeds and raises them. If the two eggs with dark brown speckles are larger than the other four eggs in the nest, they are most likely Brown-headed Cowbird eggs.
I’m not sure what bird is nesting there but if you could send me a photo that would be great.
69 kevin // Apr 22, 2011 at 3:05 am
Near Deer River Mn. Large stick nest 65 feet up in a large red pine. Found in upland conifer forest. I would guess nest is 18 inches in diameter. Lots of white splash beneath the nest. Not big enough for eagle nest.
70 Larry // Apr 22, 2011 at 7:02 pm
@Kevin this sounds like a small hawk nest to me. Most raptors and their nestlings defacate over the side of the nest to keep the nest clean and that sized nest, around 18 inches, could be a Red-shouldered Hawk or a Broad-winged Hawk.
71 Kim // Apr 25, 2011 at 4:53 pm
I found a blue uncracked egg in the raingutter beside the house. It was laying in just a little bit of water, but extraordinarily cold. There was a small tree beside it with a small empty nest. It was the most logical place it could have fallen from and since it was empty, I placed the egg there. My question is does this little egg stand a chance?
72 violet cox // Apr 28, 2011 at 6:06 am
do two mother birds lay in the same nest
73 K & J // May 6, 2011 at 1:40 pm
We live in central CT, we found first (1) egg (quarter size, cream/white) just laying on our mulch (no nest) between the foundation and small shrubs. the area is rather open. About week later, a second egg (same size, shape, color) has appeared next to the first egg. Any idea what this could be?
74 Krish // May 6, 2011 at 9:47 pm
I live in Kansas city suburb and found a nest on the ground in one corner of my house. It has six eggs almost identical size to white chicken eggs. There is no adult bird around I see. Not sure if they visit at night? Could it be turtle / big snake? Its been three days. There is no creeks or waterholes near by my house. Larry, could you please help identify it?
75 Krish // May 9, 2011 at 11:26 am
It turned out to be mallard duck eggs. The mami duck came back and attending to the eggs
My kids are hopeful of seeing the ducklings in another 28days.
76 Brianna // May 18, 2011 at 2:02 pm
I have been thinking about birds a lot recently and feeling nostalgia for my old parakeets. Then one day I went to get the mail and there, with the mail,was a stick with dead leaves in the box. I almost tossed it out, when I noticed that it was a little birds nest! The nest was empty, but the next day I saw an egg, then the next evening I finally saw the mama, but I tried not to linger so I wouldn’t bother her. Now today I have discovered another egg! I am so happy, what a wonderful place to have a nest! I tried to get a picture with a dime, but it proved too difficult without disturbing the nest. The eggs are about the size of a dime on the rounded part, then a little extra to make the oval shape. The eggs are a light cream color with brown splatter spots. The nest is made up of dry leaves, grass, pine needles,hair and twigs. The opening is about 2″ and 3″ deep, and the whole nest is about 7″ in diameter. It is hard to tell because the mailbox is kind of an awkward space. I live in Houston, Tx and the mailbox is shaded under our front porch. I am thinking it may be a house sparrow now that I am reading about them. I am not sure how to submit a picture although photo quality is not so great. I took the pic with my phone because I cant seem to find my memory card. Let me know, much appreciated.
77 brandy // May 19, 2011 at 4:34 am
my friend moved a nest of nest by mistake. the nest has 5 eggs in it they are white with brown spot all over them the size of them is about the size of a quter.the nest is made up of green weeds and a little of fur .will a diffent bird take over the nest if not what can i do to make them be ok they look like the picture of the of ash-throated flycatcher or new carolina i live in mississippi right to louisana and what kind of bird is they
78 Brenda // May 20, 2011 at 7:36 am
Two weeks ago I found a small nest outside my front door in a tall spruce shrub. There were 4 small blue eggs w/ brown specks. The mother is similar to a sparrow. Two days ago the eggs hatched and the mother was going in and out of nest, but last evening we were gone a couple hours and on returning I saw the mother on the ground near the bush and three of the babies were there on the ground. My husband picked up the babies and put back in the nest. The mother came back searching on the ground and about five minutes later found them in the nest. She and the father keep going to the nest and this a.m. the babies look fine and the mother is attending to them. My question is: what kind of bird and what would have caused the babies to be out of the nest on the ground? Any info would be appreciated.
79 John // May 21, 2011 at 3:43 pm
I live in Arlington, Texas and have a small nest in a hanging fern on our back porch. There are 3 white eggs about the size of a jelly bean and 4 more eggs that are brown specked and are a little larger than the white eggs. Any ideas of what kind of bird has laid these and do you think there are two different species laying these eggs?
80 AMY // May 23, 2011 at 11:51 am
I live in Northwestern Louisiana. However, we had a dozer delivered by truck from Southwest Arkansas. In the side box of the dozer is a nest about 6.5 ” tall and 9″long. There are 5 small (about penny size diameter) eggs. They are white/cream colored with brownish/red spots. The spots do not cover the entire egg. The nest was made of pinestraw/moss/sticks and leaves. It is very well constructed. What should I do? I had to remove the nest from the dozer.
81 Don // May 25, 2011 at 1:04 pm
My son found a tiny, rather pointed, blue-green egg with light and dark brown speckles on the larger end at the edge of our driveway in northwestern Illinois. I have a photo of it next to a dime and penny. My guess is it’s a Chipping Sparrow’s egg, but I’d like another opinion. They are the only birds I regularly see hunting at the edge of our drive.
82 Dianne // May 30, 2011 at 12:01 pm
We have a nest in a planter on the patio. There are two varieties of eggs. One are about quarter size or a bit smaller and baby blue-the other is about 2/3 that size and are brown, with a pattern or beige. The later does not appear to be what I recall a common sparrow egg. One bird that site nest is a wren type about the size of a sparrow with a turned up tail and a longer beak. the other that I have not seen, but someone else had seen is a small dark bird almost black. Is it possible that they are sharing the nest intentionally or what is the deal. I have never seen anything like this. We are in Brownsville Texas, which is about as far south as one can get in the USA. We have alot of migratory birds in the spring, but many have already left our 100 degree weather. Anybody have any ideas?
83 buckyrukus // May 30, 2011 at 2:40 pm
i found 5 eggs that are cream color with dr. brown spots size little smaller than half doller coin ,in ground planter pot do not know what are they i am 10 years old i realy want to know i live in tuc. az
84 Janet // May 31, 2011 at 8:04 am
We have a large, thick mass of grape vines growing in a tunnel arbor type frame with a tiny bird nest on top. It is about 3″ in diameter and comprised of dried grass and weeds on the outside and a thick cush of horsehair on the inside. Almost baby buggy shaped as one side of the horse hair clump was nearly domed but not so much as to look totally constructed. 4 eggs inside that are light brown/tan with dark brown blotches – robin egg sized/shape but different color. We are located in Northern Michigan. Any ideas as to species? Not sure I can get a photo in that dark mangled area but I can try if need-be. I’m also quite concerned as we are experiencing very high winds and a strong storm coming. Is there anything I can do to prevent the tipping of the nest as this nest is not secured to anything under it, it’s just sitting there and so tiny with no mud, etc as heavier glue. Just light weeds. I don’t want to tamper too much but if there’s something I could do safely…
85 Janet // May 31, 2011 at 8:07 am
PS… our property is in a secluded, heavily wooded area. The nest is situated near our mini-horses paddock on the edge of dense woods (hardwood and pine).
86 samm // May 31, 2011 at 10:49 am
i found a very small nest in my laundry room between a couple boxes 3 feet off ground its shaped like a wreath its entrance is tiny ther r 4 eggs jellybean sized oval white with brownish-red speckles n blotches more on the larger end in brooksville, fl any help is appreciated just wondering what type they r if u email me i can send pics
87 samm // May 31, 2011 at 11:01 am
the nest looks likethe house sparrow the eggs look just like the carolina wren both seem smaller though
88 samm // May 31, 2011 at 2:07 pm
i just saw one of the parents and i think it is a grasshopper sparrow
89 Mary // Jun 1, 2011 at 5:21 pm
I live in southeastern PA and when I was weeding a large bird which was aprox 18″ away from me flew out of a nest which was on the ground in thick undergrowth. The nest was built predominantly of what looks like fur, perhaps from a rabbit. There are 11 eggs which are comparable in size to hen eggs. I did not touch the nest but watched it daily & the nesting bird never returned. After 3-4 weeks I cracked an egg which appeared to be unfertilized. What bird fits this description? I was thinking grouse…does that fit the profile?
Mary´s last post ..By- Don
90 Ann Breed // Jul 1, 2011 at 10:04 am
We have a Carolina wren nest in a flower pot on our front porch in San Antonio, TX. The nest is about knee high. The wren has laid 4 eggs in the nest and now another unknown bird has laid one egg – a soft blue, about the size of a nickle – in the nest with the wren eggs. Do you have any idea what the other bird might have been?
Thank you. Ann Breed
91 Larry // Jul 1, 2011 at 10:37 pm
@Ann my guess would be the Brown-headed Cowbird. A parasitic bird that lays its eggs in another bird’s nest so that the host species raises their young for them. You can read more about the Brown-headed Cowbird here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-headed_Cowbird
Their eggs vary a lot but are always speckled.
92 maddy // Jul 5, 2011 at 9:34 am
I found an egg by itself in my garden today, i was transplanting perrenials from a friend from sutton ontario canada, i think that the egg was dug up with the perrenials and managed to survive the transplant unscathed it is about three times the size of a quarter and is parchment coloured with faint brown speckles, I was hoping that you would know what sort of bird it is (i am assuming it is a bird as it i an elongated spherical shape with a pointed end) if you had any ideas on what type of bird that would be great, madd
93 Larry // Jul 5, 2011 at 6:17 pm
@Maddy that’s a pretty big egg! It sounds like a Wild Turkey egg to me.
94 Lee // Jul 26, 2011 at 5:26 am
I was excited to stumble upon this website- I watched 4 robins from the time their eggs were hatched to the day they flew from the nest. About 3 wks later one of the babies came back to use the nest for her babies. She had 3 babies when my son called about a swallow he had found that fell out of its muddy nest attached 15 ft above. He asked if I minded him bringing it to join the robins? Why not? So, 1 1/2 wks ago, 3 became 4. One wk after 1 of the robins was found on the ground and did not make it. The nest is below a deck that I can see from my recliner and keep an eye on all the time! Now, they are about to leave the nest. The interesting thing is to watch 2 robins feeding! The mother of those in the nest, and the Grandma of them. They are both up at the nest at the same time often. My little chipmunk also got into the feeding. He ran down from his rocky home and laid something on the ground a foot from the Grandma, who picked it up and went to the roof to pound her beak with the “prize” in it. Nature at its finest! I was worried the robin would not accept another breed, but those worries subsided immediately and I am thoroughly enjoying seeing the head that raises about 1″ above the rest!
95 Gloria // Jul 30, 2011 at 3:44 pm
I found a nest a month ago that looks abandoned, thinking it’s a Carolina Wren since it’s made of pine straw , twigs,and plastic on top of our storage cabinet wedged between two empty gas containers but my dad said he heard noises from it just now, but the nest is on a side view and the hole to too small to peer into to see if anything is in there
96 Emily // Nov 22, 2011 at 7:20 pm
I just found a very small egg that I couldn’t identify. It was in a box in my shed… It was just one and some website suggestions would help
97 Larry // Nov 26, 2011 at 6:29 am
@Emily there are many species of birds that nest around human habitation. I need to know what the egg looks like, color, size, etc., a photo would be nice, where you live and what type of habitat surrounds your house. I have sent you a separate email.
98 LUKE // Dec 6, 2011 at 1:05 am
I NEED HELP ON FEATURES TO LOOK FOR IN IDENTIFYING AN OWL’S EGGS. SOMEBODY OUT THERE KINDLY HELP.
THANKS
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