鸟类筑巢看似是它们的天性，科学家们也很难理解它们究竟如何学会建筑自己家的。大多数鸟类在繁殖季节，在它们的巢区以内，选用植物纤维、树枝、树叶、杂草泥土、兽毛或鸟羽等物，筑成可使鸟卵不致滚散，并能同时均匀受到亲鸟体温的孵化和有利于亲鸟喂雏的巢窝
不过对于鸟类的筑巢技术，科学家到是有了研究，前不久苏格兰爱丁堡大学的生物学家们通过研究非洲黑脸织雀发现，它们的筑巢能力和风格会随着时间的推移而变化，它们筑巢的本事不仅仅是天生的，更是熟能生巧，越成熟的鸟类它们的巢建筑的就越合理，越漂亮。
研究这次鸟类筑巢爱丁堡大学的威尔森博士说：“我们发现，鸟类筑巢可能是因为它们的基因中就有一个筑巢的本领，不过它们所认识的巢仅仅是一个抽象的概念，只有大概轮廓，它们通过这个大概轮廓作为参照物，你也可以看出，刚开始它们的巢大多都差不多。但你仔细观察后会发现这些巢还是有很大的区别的，年龄越大的鸟它们建筑的巢更精美耐用。这应该是经验起了作用。”
科学家们发现，就算是同一只黑脸织雀，它前后编织的巢穴也会有很大区别，而不同的鸟类的搭巢方式也完全不同，有些喜欢从左往右搭起，而有些则喜欢从右往左。此外，随着经验的累积，它们筑巢时失误也会减少，把草叶掉落的频率也会逐渐降低。
它们同时还研究的北极滨鸟的筑巢行为，发现它们筑巢的纬度越高，其鸟蛋被狐狸和其他动物吃掉的几率就越低，这解释了为何北极滨鸟每年都要“长途跋涉”北上筑巢。
科学家们介绍，北极滨鸟每年都要从它们在南美洲南端以及非洲和大洋洲南部地区的过冬场所飞到荒芜偏远的北极筑巢、繁殖。鸟儿在这一过程中要面对体能消耗、极端气候等多种挑战，但获得的回报是可喜的，其鸟蛋被吃掉的几率大大降低。(生物谷 Bioon.com)
doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2011.06.011
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Individuality in nest building: Do Southern Masked weaver (Ploceus velatus) males vary in their nest-building behaviour?
Patrick T. Walsh, Mike Hansell, Wendy D. Borello, Susan D. Healy
We currently have little understanding of how birds know what nest to build and what little we do know has been gained largely from investigations of the completed structures (morphology of finished nests) or of material selection. Here we looked at the behaviours performed by male Southern Masked weaverbirds when building their nests. During the two earliest phases of construction individual males varied in the direction in which they carried and inserted grass into their developing nest, the speed at which they completed phases of nest construction and in the frequency with which they dropped grass during weaving. Behaviours performed during the initial attachment phase, when grass is being secured to a bare branch, were not repeatable within males, whereas during the subsequent “ring” phase behaviours tended to be repeatable. Some males were biased as to which side of the nest they inserted grass blades and strongly lateralized individuals completed phases of nest-building more quickly. The lack of repeatability of most nest-building behaviours and the changes in those behaviours as males build more nests seems most readily explained by increasing dexterity. Further work is required to confirm any role for cognition in these experience-dependent changes.
