Bird's nest fungus sounds like a type of fungus that grows on bird's nests- maybe the kind of thing you'd recognize in the taste of bird's nest soup. But that's not what it is at all. It's a fungus that looks like a tiny nest, complete with eggs inside! There are 60 to 70 different species of bird's nest fungi, under the family Nidulariaceae, which comes from the Latin term for little nest. They are found all around the world, and tend to grow on organic surfaces, like tree branches or fallen logs.
But why do they look like bird's nests? It's not camouflage, but a reproductive strategy. The "eggs" contain fungus spores. They develop inside a shell, which opens up when the eggs are ready. Then it waits for rain. A single raindrop splashing into the "nest" will propel the spore-carrying eggs as far as three feet away, where they land on some other organic material to start growing a new pod. Read about these fungi and see plenty of picture (plus a video) at Kuriositas.
(image credit: JuliaC2006)
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