Birds may not choose to sleep in exactly the same spot every night, but they have favorite areas. When it comes to finding somewhere to sleep, many birds remain in the familiar places where they have spent the day.
Where birds decide to sleep depends on the weather and where they can find the most food in the most efficient way. If they know that there are good food sources in a location, it makes sense to sleep there too so it’s convenient to wake up and feed straight away.
Staying in a familiar area also helps birds to protect their territory. Once they have found a good spot to forage, most birds will prefer to stay in that vicinity and deter any competitors for their food sources.
Birds also want somewhere to sleep where they will be comfortable and safe. They will seek out concealed, sheltered places that protect them from weather and from predators.
Do birds sleep in nests?
Birds’ nests are not places for them to lay down and get cosy! This goes against what most people imagine.
Birds don’t usually sleep in their nests because their nests are primarily places for raising their young. They find a roosting place in a safe spot elsewhere.
This can change in the nesting season though. In nesting season, the adult birds will stay in the nest overnight as their eggs are incubating, to protect them and keep them warm with their body heat.
What birds do in nesting season
Once the eggs hatch, birds still sleep in the nest at night to take care of their chicks. If they are not actually sleeping in the nest, they will roost on a branch nearby to keep watch over the eggs or chicks.
When it is time for the young birds to leave the nest, though, the parents also leave.
The fact that birds do not sleep in these nests makes sense once you think about what goes on in a nest during nesting season. Raising young can be a messy business, for birds as well as humans.
Nests will be full of broken shells, droppings and in some cases, the remains of any young that didn’t make it. These waste materials can attract unwanted predators or parasites.
It’s not that surprising that those birds who do make nests leave them once the fledglings are out. They don’t return to those nests. Instead they make new ones for the next breeding season.
If birds don’t sleep in nests, where do they go at night?
At night, birds look for a safe sheltered spot, high up. Being higher off the ground is safer from prowling predators, like cats.
In this location, birds’ sensitivity during their unihemispheric slow wave sleep can enable them to detect vibrations that alert them to the movement of an animal climbing the tree.
But they also need to beware of airborne predators, such as owls. Dense foliage or a small space like a natural crevice or the crook of a tree branch will allow them to stay out of sight and give them even more protection.
The closer they can get to the trunk of the tree the better. A location closer to the trunk will be warmer because it will be sheltered from the elements. The tree may still hold the heat from the day in its trunk.
Do woodpeckers make holes to sleep in?
Some birds, like woodpeckers, sleep inside trees, especially dead ones. They might make nests to raise their young there too.
Each new season woodpeckers prefer to find a fresh cavity to sleep or nest in, rather than returning to the old one. Fortunately they have the ability to carve out a new one if they can’t just find one.
The woodpeckers’ abandoned cavities do not go to waste though. Other birds like nuthatches might take advantage of the empty holes and move in there themselves.
Nesting boxes or birdhouses provided by humans can be a great refuge to roost, with the additional benefit that these locations are often near to food. Birds that like these nest boxes include wrens, nuthatches and chickadees.
Other safe places for birds to roost at night include the overhangs of tree canopies, roofs or ledges.
If birds can find a hole that will fit a few of them in, then their combined warmth will keep them even more cosy. Bluebirds, pygmy nuthatches and acorn woodpeckers have been known to do this.
For birds, there is safety – and more warmth – in numbers. If they are not able to find a small space to squeeze into to sleep, they will flock together overnight.
How do birds sleep without falling?
The key to the mystery of how birds sleep without falling over is common to all types of bird, whether they roost in trees or stand in water.
Birds can sleep standing up because their bodies – especially their feet – are so well adapted to their habitat.
The group of birds called passerines, for example, are birds that perch. The passerine group includes the majority of songbirds, like warblers, jays or sparrows.
Passerines are able to sleep without falling out of trees because of their toes and the flexor tendons that run all the way down their legs.
They have four toes, three pointing forward and one really strong one pointing backwards. When these birds land with bent legs, their toes grasp the branch and their hind toe helps to keep them balanced.
When all their four toes are gripping and their legs are bent, the tendons tighten to keep the bird attached to the twig.
Why sleeping birds don’t fall out of trees
Even while a bird is asleep, its body weight ensures it stays perched in this same bent-legged position. So the tendons stay tight even then the bird is asleep.
While they are relaxed, their claws remain locked automatically to the branch or whatever they are standing on. The tendons loosen when the bird wakes up and straightens its legs, ready to move.
How and why do birds sleep standing up?
Birds tend to stay upright while they sleep, rather than laying down like other animals. This is linked to the reason that they sleep with one eye open – to keep themselves safe.
By standing up, they are in a position where they can move away more quickly. They are ready to escape if they sense danger.
Little birds sleeping upright in trees can be difficult for bird watchers to spot. If you’d like to see birds asleep while they are standing up, it is easier to look for larger birds like water fowl.
Wading birds, like egrets, sleep standing in the water because it is safer. If any predator approaches, they will either hear the noise or feel the vibrations through the water.
One foot up: why do birds sleep standing on one leg?
You might see waterfowl and shorebirds, for instance, asleep standing in shallow water or by the water’s edge. If they can get a firm grasp with their wide, webbed feet, then they won’t fall over.
Some might even stand on one leg with the other leg tucked in against their body. This is linked to the fact that birds do not lay down to sleep.
It’s tiring to be on their feet all day. So they might lift one leg and tuck their foot against their body to rest that leg.
For birds with long legs, their body shape also means that it is easier to balance and more comfortable for them to stand on just one leg.
Another reason that you might see birds asleep while standing on one leg is that they have brought the other leg close to their body to conserve warmth.
Why do birds sleep with their heads tucked backwards?
Protection from the cold is also the reason why some birds tuck their beaks under their wings or back feathers to sleep. Scientists have found, though, that even this adjustment for warmth is a trade-off.
It can make them a little slower to react to a sound than birds that are asleep with their heads upright. This potentially makes them more vulnerable when sleeping.
Another strategy that birds use to stay warm at night time is to fluff up their feathers. This traps more air in the little gaps between the feathers around their bodies.
As this air gets warmed up by their body heat it will keep them insulated. It’s the same method of conserving warmth that we use for duvets and other forms of insulation.
Do any birds lay down to sleep?
Birds don’t lay down to sleep because they must be ready to react and move quickly in the event of a threat.
Some birds are not able to lay down while sleeping because of their environment. Flamingos, for example, cannot sit down or perch on the caustic salt flats where they are feeding. Instead, they have to stay standing up.
While some water fowl or waders sleep standing in water or close to the shore – even better if there’s an island. Others float while they are asleep.
Ducks and geese don’t lay down to sleep. They will often sleep while floating for the same reason that wading birds sleep standing up.
The water acts as a warning system where they will either hear the noise or feel a vibration through the water if any potential threat approaches.
In the same way that passerines will huddle together for warmth or safety, some species of birds roost in large groups to sleep. Red-winged blackbirds do this.
Is it better for birds to sleep in a flock?
Some spectacular sights for bird watchers are massive gatherings of starlings, called murmurations. Murmurations of starlings fly in perfect coordination as they get ready to roost for the night.
Being in a flock is safer. This is because there will be more targets if any predators approach. It increases the odds of each bird surviving. Being nearer to other bodies also keeps each bird warmer.
Another defensive strategy seen among flocks is the role of some birds on the edge of the flock. These birds stay more alert and can warn against predators.
Being on the outside they are more vulnerable. They keep their brain more active through the unihemispheric slow wave sleep than those birds sheltered more safely in the center of the flock.
If you are interest in learning about the sleep patterns of birds, feel free to read more here > What time do birds go to sleep?
What next?
Now you know that birds don’t actually sleep in their nests, find out more about how some species use nest building as an important part of their mating ritual.
Often the female builds the nest once she has chosen a mate. But for some species, the male shows off his prowess by constructing nests to impress the female. Learn more about which species do this here… Is it male or female birds singing and building nests?
For some advice on how to get the most out of your bird watching, feel free to check out our suggestions here > Birding binoculars tips: how to see the most birds
Contents
- 1 Do birds sleep in nests?
- 2 If birds don’t sleep in nests, where do they go at night?
- 3 How do birds sleep without falling?
- 4 How and why do birds sleep standing up?
- 5 One foot up: why do birds sleep standing on one leg?
- 6 Why do birds sleep with their heads tucked backwards?
- 7 Do any birds lay down to sleep?
- 8 What next?