Credit: Andrew Walmsley/Nature Picture Library

Zebra finches seem to actively camouflage their nests when building them.

Many birds' nests appear camouflaged, but this could be a serendipitous result of their use of local materials. Ida Bailey at the University of St Andrews, UK, and her team let 20 male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata; pictured) choose between two types of paper strip when building their nests: one matching the cage colour and the other contrasting. Of the birds, 14 predominantly chose the colour that matched the cage decor.

This is the first experimental evidence that birds choose to camouflage their nests, say the authors.

The Auk 132, 11–15 (2015)