Is The Bird Market A Bit Cuckoo?

March 30th 2012
By: Melanie

Spring is a very active time of year for the housing market, not just for the conventional housing market, but for the bird market too.

You might have noticed the increased activity from our feathered friends over the past few weeks, but have you ever considered that when it comes to home requirements their needs might not be all that different from ours.  

Different species of birds have different housing requirements. Rooks like large structures, made from material such as twigs, they build nests that far to big for their needs, they like to impress.

Some smaller birds such as sparrows build cute, compact nests. They are quite shy about their building plans and will scurry in and out of bushes trying not to be seen, especially if they are borrowing items from their neighbour’s gardens.

Blackbirds are very gifted when it comes to building, winding intricate pieces of grass into a perfect sized home, turning as they weave to ensure a beautifully smooth surface for their home. Size isn’t important, just the finish.

Chaffinches like a posh nests – they use spiders webs to help keep their homes in one piece, they like luxury, and take up to three weeks creating their new oval pad from moss and sticky cobwebs.

However like us, some birds prefer to rent rather than buy, several birds such as tits and owls like to use holes in trees and roofs to make their nests. They quickly move into their homes not really caring about the look, and just fill it up with rubbish and grass.

And we will leave you to make your own minds up about the cuckoo. So it begs the question, are birds really so different from us when it comes to creating and choosing a new home?