Bird Board
Nest id help
Posted by Joel Rosenthal
about 5 years ago
1 Comment
While trimming a definitely not "dwarf" firebush(Hamelia patens) in my backyard last night, I discovered the abandoned nest shown. Can anyone hazard a guess at its creator? The nest was well hidden and escaped my attention this spring- , but despite my daily surveillance of this plant for avian visitors, I never noticed the nest.It was about 7 feet off the ground. Usual visitors to the bush are hummingbirds, mockingbirds and cardinals the latter often in pairs. The hollow of the nest would fit one supermarket size chicken egg, and the whole nest is perhaps 5 inches in diameter.
Comments
I would guess Cardinal. Every mockingbird nest I've seen is made from twigs with a grass lining rather than the mostly grass formed nest in your picture. The Birds of North America describes cardinal nests as being composed mostly of soft materials like grasses and small vines.
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