There is a swallow’s nest outside right now with like 6 babies in it that barely fit and no room in sight for the parents. Do the parents sleep there too somehow or somewhere else?
A few years ago I saw the same with a robin’s nest and in that case, when the babies got bigger but before they could fully fly, they all moved into a nearby shrub but could only glide and hop.
Was that unusual or common to have a nest too small to hold the whole breed and parents?
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Smaller nests are easier to build, requiring less energy which is a real consideration for non-human animals.
Additionally, a smaller nest will be easier to keep warm. When they are eggs and young chicks, they don’t have much ability to warm themselves. With a small nest one parent bird can completely cover the top of the nest meaning the eggs / chicks are completely enclosed and protected from the elements. If a nest is large enough for the parent birds to also use it, they wouldn’t be able to cover it completely with their bodies.
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