I found this nest lying on the ground. Presumably it fell from the tree during recent heavy winds. It was lying beneath a rather large gum tree. It is made of strings of bark and nicely lined with feathers. There were no eggs or babies in it when I found it. :-)
- soakes
Your hand helps for size comparison, but generally gerygones make nests of that shape... usually has a long tail at the bottom but that may have broken off.
Brandon (aka ihewman)
I was just going to say the same thing, Brown Gerygone? Young guy beats old guy. Let's hope we are right.
Patrik
Thanks for the responses. I suppose it could be a gerygone, but I have never seen one around my place! That doesn't mean there aren't any - in fact the birdata distribution maps tend to imply that the brown gerygone is the only one that might be in the vicinity. They seem to be pretty nondescript birds, somewhat similar to thornbills. How can I identify them?
Also, I don't think the nest had lost a tail - it seemed to be in pretty good shape when I found it. Could the nest possibly belong to a different kind of bird?
- soakes
soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia
Thornbill nests look a bit like that.
There are certainly plenty of thornbills around, so it could be that.
That would mean it wasn't in the gum tree, but in some bush fairly low to the ground.
I can't find many pics of thornbill nests online. Does anyone have one?
- soakes
soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia
This is a yellow rumped thornbill nest, they aren't always as big as this, and this one has a false nest on top.
Interesting question, who's nest is this then? The only birds around at the time when this nest fell out of the tree, were Brown Thornbills and Red-browed Firetails. Does this one then belong to Friretails?
(the entrance is up the top where the red feathers are)
Patrik
Hmm, it seems that quite a few birds make this style of nest!
I also have red-browed finches around. I wish I'd taken a better look at the nest now...
- soakes
soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia
That looks like quite a complicated setup, and well-integrated with its host shrubbery.
It is hard to imagine that one falling to the ground!
- soakes
soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia
Yes, but there are other species of thornbill, their nests may be a bit different. I can't give a positive id but I think thornbill is a possibility.
Yep, sure is. The main thornbills I have around are either brown or striated (I still can't tell the difference!)
- soakes
soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia