The magpie's nest looks simple, but it is complicated

When you go out on an outing, you will see the nests of magpies on the top of tall trees, giving people the illusion that the magpies' nests are poorly constructed, the nest mouths face upwards, and they cannot shelter from the wind and rain.


The magpie's nest on the ground is farsighted


The ground looks up at the magpie's nest

Through research and observation, magpies can also become master architects of birds. We can see from the ground that the magpie's nest is on a high tree branch, which is disorganized. Wind and rain, in fact, is not as simple as people imagine.

When magpies build their nests, they carefully select the appropriate position of the three branches of a tall tree. The base part seems to be a few simple branches. In fact, magpies use the principles of physics to fix the nest foundation in this position. There is a roof on the top of the nest, and maintain a certain slope, so that the rainwater flows down from the top of the slope, and the nest is not leaking. The inner wall of the nest has a waterproof layer, and the internal structure is very particular. The nest mouth is not facing upwards, mostly southeast, sometimes north. Magpies have a good predictability of the weather of the year, and the orientation of the nest mouth can effectively prevent rain.

A close-up view of the magpie's nest from high altitude

The mouth of the nest is on the side

It takes nearly half a year for a pair of magpies to build a nest. It usually starts in October every year and needs to be completed in April of the next year. This is similar to building a house by modern humans It takes about the same time, and the construction is fine.

The magpie's nest under construction

The magpie's nest building is very strong. Although the strong wind can blow down the billboard, it is rarely able to lift the magpie's nest. It can be seen that although there are no knots and tenons in the magpie's nest, the nest is firm. Still amazing.

I'm Li Changsheng, a teaching and research worker in the field of wildlife. Welcome to the headline number of Li Changsheng, a wildlife expert.


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