A Nest of Information
Sunday
Nests can be very old indeed. Birds often reuse nests built by earlier residents, and one gyrfalcon nest in Greenland was carbon dated at about 2,500 years old, with several other Greenland nests found to be over 1,000 years old.
Monday
Birds usually come to mind first as nest builders, but insects, mice, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, fish, frogs, turtles, alligators, and cobras build nests too.
Tuesday
Hopefully, empty nesters have nest eggs. These idioms refer to parents living in a house which kids have moved out of, and also of having some savings for the future.
Wednesday
Even among birds, the variety in nest sizes is remarkable. The ruby-throated hummingbird makes an elaborate nest (structurally reinforced by spiderwebs, softened on the inside by plant down, camouflaged on the outside by moss and lichens) which is about the size of a thimble. Meanwhile, bald eagles, which continuously use and improve the same nest, have build nests 20 feet deep and weighing an estimated 2 tons. The sociable weaver bird builds nests which resemble upside-down haystacks in trees, can be 23 feet wide and house 400 individuals.
Thursday
Many animal and human mothers experience a late-pregnancy “nesting instinct” to energetically clean and organize the home that the baby will be living in shortly before it arrives.
Friday
Termite nests take the form of mounds which have been measured up to 28.5 feet, or 8.7 meters, tall. If humans built something this tall relative to their own size, it would be over four times taller than the world’s current tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa.
Saturday
A disorganized tangle of hair is called a rat’s nest, since an indoor actual rat’s nest is often a similarly inelegant tangle made of whatever building materials can be found nearby, like paper, cloth, insulation, or cardboard.