How and Where Birds Build Their Nests

Bald Eagles build their untidy nests on craggy cliffs, on mountain ledges, or in the tops of trees.	Burrowing Owls often make their nests in the burrows of prairie dogs and badgers. They sometimes dig their own nesting tunnels.
Cowbirds lay eggs in other birds' nests. The other birds may build floors over the cowbird eggs, forming 3 or 4 stories in the nest.	Grebes build floating nests on rafts of decaying vegetation in lakes and ponds. They fasten the rafts to cattails and weed stalks.
Tailorbirds sew large leaves together to form their nests. Using their bills as needles, they sew with strips of wool and silk, or plant fiber.	Orioles hang pouchlike nests made of grass and plant fiber from the branches of trees. Some orioles build nests that are 6 feet long.
Woodpeckers cut holes in trees for their nests. The holes are 6 to 10 inches deep. The nests have little or no lining, except for wood chips.	Flamingos make their nests by scraping together piles of mud. The eggs are laid in a shallow hollow at the top of the conelike pile.