How do robins make their nests?

Dear Clever Cali,

How do robins make their nests? A robin has nested near my house. Its nest is perfectly round and neat, and robins don’t even have thumbs.

Sincerely,

Robin Fan

Dear Robin Fan,

The supremacy of thumbs is a human-driven narrative!! Don’t let the humans brainwash you!!

Just kidding. But it does turn out that many animals are amazing architects, and they don’t have thumbs. (Editor Jaanu note: “animal architects” sounds like a good idea for an article!) Weaver birds are small members of the finch family and weave stems and twigs to form a basket-like nest. Sociable weavers are weaver birds that make a large woven nest for the whole colony of birds. These nests can be like a huge apartment complex with as many as 100 families or more occupying the individual spots. Female robins make the nest. According to Cornell Lab’s article on the American Robin, they “build the nest from the inside out, pressing dead grass and twigs into a cup shape using the wrist of one wing. Other materials include paper, feathers, rootlets, or moss in addition to grass and twigs.” While birds don’t have thumbs, they do have wrists! Once the initial shape of the nest has been created, robins will line the inside of the cup using soft mud from the wake of worm diggings. This makes the next heavy and strong. Finally, the nest is covered with soft dry grass that the robins dig up, and its ready to welcome the eggs.

~ Clever Cali