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The Eight Weirdest Nest Building Materials

September 4, 2025 by Kai Pflug 4 Comments

8. Spider Webs: Female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds collect spider silk by sticking it all over their beaks and breasts. When reaching the nest, the silk is stretched onto moss, creating a tiny cup (source).

7. Plastic Trash: In a Kittiwake colony in Denmark, in 1992, plastic garbage was included in 39% of nests, while in 2005, 57% of nests contained it (source).

6. White Paper: Jackdaws in a colony in Haren, The Netherlands, incorporate white pieces of paper in their nest (source).

5. Saliva: Male Edible-Nest Swiftlets build nests composed of interwoven strands of salivary cement (source).

4. Cigarette Butts: House Sparrows in Mexico City incorporate these into their nests – research indicates the nicotine in them may reduce the number of parasites.

3. Barbed Wire: The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum (yes, it exists) has a Raven‘s nest primarily made from short pieces of barbed wire.

2. Snakeskin:  Researchers found that snakeskin incorporated into nests was highly effective at protecting Great Crested Flycatcher nests from predators.

1. Anti-Bird Spikes: In Rotterdam, Carrion Crows were observed using anti-bird spikes to build a nest in a poplar tree – photos here.

In contrast, a nest supposedly made out of syringes by a pigeon in Vancouver is most likely fake.

Written by Kai Pflug
Kai has lived in Shanghai for more than 21 years. He only started birding after moving to China, so he is far more familiar with Chinese birds than the ones back in his native Germany. As a birder, he considers himself strictly average and tries to make up for it with photography, which he shares on a separate website. Alas, most of the photos are pretty average as well. He hopes that few clients of his consulting firm—focused on China’s chemical industry—ever find this blog, as it might raise questions about his professional priorities. Much of his time is spent either editing posts for 10,000 Birds or cleaning the litter boxes of his numerous indoor cats. He occasionally considers writing a piece comparing the two activities.