A nest is a building that certain animals construct to house eggs, young, and, in certain cases, the animal itself. Although nests are most frequently associated with birds, they are built by members of all vertebrate groups and certain invertebrates. They might be made of organic materials like twigs, grass, and leaves, or they can be as basic as a dip in the ground or a hole in a rock, tree, or structure. String, plastic, fabric, or paper are examples of human-made materials that can be used. Nests may be found in a variety of environments.

Birds and animals have a biological need called the nesting instinct that drives them to create nests. In general, each species has its own nesting strategy. The degree of parental care by adults is generally associated with the intricacy of the nest. Birds have the most diverse nests, ranging from small holes in the ground to huge communal nests housing hundreds of people. Nest construction is regarded as a significant adaptive advantage among birds, and they have the most variety in their nests. Prairie dogs and other social insects may have millions of individuals in their nests.

The nesting instinct, which is a biological need in pregnant animals to safeguard their offspring, is frequently the driving force behind nest construction. Nests are built by animals to protect their eggs, young, or themselves from harm. The most basic nest constructions are designed to protect eggs from predators, screen them from the sun or other environmental variables, or simply prevent them from being scattered by ocean currents. Nests can also provide safety in numbers for egg-laying mammals in some situations.

Many nest builders care for their young, while others just deposit their eggs and fly away. Brooding (sitting on eggs to incubate them) is a frequent practice among birds. Nest complexity rises in direct proportion to the degree of parental care offered. Nest construction encourages social behavior by allowing for bigger populations in tiny places, potentially boosting an environment’s carrying capacity. Insects with the most sophisticated nesting structures also have the most social organization. The naked mole-rat, a mammal that builds large tunnels that accommodate hundreds of individuals, has a caste structure similar to social insects.

The capacity to employ a variety of construction materials may be an adaptive advantage (requiring less energy to acquire resources) or a disadvantage (requiring more energy to obtain materials) (less ability to specialize in construction). Natural selection appears to prefer specialization over flexibility in nest building, according to the data.

There are just two forms of nest building at the most basic level: sculpting and assembling.

Sculpting is the removal of material in order to obtain the desired result. Burrowing into the earth or plant materials to construct a nesting place is the most prevalent method.

Gathering, transporting, and arranging components to build a unique structure is what assembly entails. Because transportation takes the most time and energy, animals have evolved to construct with materials found in their local habitat.

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