Birds Take Center Stage in Nature’s "Animal Homes"

When birds get to homemaking, no mere collection of twigs will do. Each species, in fact, has highly particular needs and tastes. For some, home is a fortress of sticks laced with thorns to deter predators and rivals. For others, like the Arctic-dwelling Common Eider, warmth is the crucial feature, so it generously lines its plushy nest with feathers plucked from its own breast.

This is just a sampling of the fascinating and often elaborate home-building skills on display in the new PBS Nature series Animal Homes. In three episodes, ecologist, host, and “real estate agent” Chris Morgan surveys prime property in the wild, exploring the dwellings of some of the planet’s most talented architects.

Mammals, including beavers with their ingenious lodges, are featured, of course. But birds get their fair share of the spotlight—and then some. “There are 10,000 bird species on earth, and every species has a different approach to creating that home and building a future for the next generation,” Morgan says. “When you talk about animal homes, it’s really hard not to talk about birds, because they’re some of the best at creating them.”

Working with filmmaker Ann Johnson Prum, Morgan devotes each episode to one aspect of homemaking in the wild. “If there were three words I could use to describe [the series] they’d be wonder, resourcefulness, and drama—and all based around the home,” Morgan says. “That’s the hub of life.”

The first episode, The Nest, is a start-to-finish nest-fest, starring avian creations that range from the gargantuan—the 6-foot-wide, 1,000-pound platform of sticks built by the Osprey—to the diminutive—the fleecy, 2-inch-wide nest of an Anna’s Hummingbird. In one particularly enchanting moment, the female Anna’s uses her needle-like beak to stitch silvery plant fibers together with gossamer threads snipped from a spider’s web. “It doesn’t get more delicate than that, but it’s all functional,” Morgan says. “The spider silk stretches to accommodate the chicks as they grow.”

Choosing where to place a nest is just as crucial as building a good home. In Location, Location, Location, viewers witness the ingenious habits of birds like the Brown Creeper, which sites its nests under loose bark high in tall trees—far above hungry ground-dwelling predators. Winter-breeding Gray Jays build their homes near black spruce trees, whose resin they use to preserve the bugs, berries, and bits carrion they stash during the fall.

The third episode, Animal Cities, is all about the benefits of communal living. The filmmakers document the heart-warming story of a colony of Laysan Albatrosses in Hawaii, where a dearth of males has given rise to an uncommon behavior: females pairing up and rearing chicks together.

Ultimately, the series highlights ingenuity in the animal kingdom in an effort to inspire wonder in viewers. “My hope is that people are just bedazzled by what they see, and that it makes them want to learn more, and that by learning more, they care more,” Morgan says. “So many species in this show are facing an uncertain future [because of] habitat loss and climate change and human development.”

Here are three of Morgan’s favorite moments from the show.

The Nest: Ovenbirds

To make its cavernous nest, the Uruguayan Red Ovenbird gathers more than 5,000 beakfuls of mud and twigs, which it slowly layers to shape its 8-inch-high dome. “The mud in that hot sunshine in Uruguay becomes as hard as concrete, so it’s a little fortress,” Morgan says. But there’s more: To protect their eggs, the birds build an elaborate fake entrance to lure intruders away from the real doorway.

Location, Location, Location: Black-chinned Hummingbirds

This Arizona native has struck up an unlikely partnership with the Northern Goshawk. While goshawks don’t target hummingbirds—there’s little nourishment to be found in such a small snack—they’re fond of Mexican Jays, which are, in turn, fond of hummingbird eggs. To shield its nest, the little hummingbird positions it just below the goshawk’s, creating what Morgan calls a “cone of protection.” So any jay looking for an easy meal runs the real risk of becoming a meal itself.

Animal Cities: Atlantic Puffins

For Morgan, the benefits of communal life are epitomized by puffins, whose colonies are constantly at risk from airborne predators looking to swoop down and nab an egg or a puffin chick. But it was only after filming on Scotland’s Hebridean Islands that Morgan and the crew realized how living in packs protects the puffins from these attacks. “The more eyes on the sky, the safer they are,” Morgan says. “You’ll be looking at clusters of 10, 20, 30 puffins in little gangs on these grassy slopes, and their heads are all cocked towards the sky.”

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You can catch the final installment of Animal Homes on April 22. 

Update: All three episodes are now available online.