Birds using artificial plants as nesting material

What is it about?

We describe the first report of birds using artificial plants as nesting material. Birds in the Anthropocene are increasingly using artificial items as nesting material, instead of natural ones. We report our findings for the common coot (Fulica atra) from Leiden, The Netherlands, which used plastic in all its nests. Interestingly, some of the plastic items may possibly been mistaken by the coots for genuinely natural items, namely: plastic fake plants.

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