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Did you know some birds build cities in the treetops? Meet the crested oropendola!

A crested oropendola bird and hanging nests
A crested oropendola bird and hanging nests. Image by Ricardo Sánchez, via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC).

These birds live in colonies in the Amazon rainforest. They weave long hanging nests high in the tree canopy, where they lay their eggs. Noisy males help defend the nests from toucans and other predators.

Watch the latest episode of Stranger Creatures to learn more about these incredible avian engineers:

About this series

In Stranger Creatures, biologist Romi Castagnino ventures into the Amazon rainforest to uncover weird and wonderful animals. Stay tuned to meet mind-controlling fungi and frogs with see-through skin!

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