A Beak Is A Wonderful Thing

Melinda sent this series of photos of a bird building a mud nest on a window ledge. There are more at the source.

















Thanks to Melinda we know the bird is a Rufous Hornero, native to South America. The nest, or "oven," is constructed by the male-female team. It can take from 5 days to several months to complete.

This always gets me:

"The species is monogamous and the pair bond is long term, sometimes for life."

That's true for the Northern Cardinals, 2 of which live in the bushes behind my house - Chuck and Charlene II. I suspect Charlene the First failed to outfly the visiting falcon.
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