nest scrape

plural nest scrapes

1. A shallow depression used by ground birds as a nest; a scrape.

   2006, Les Beletsky, Birds of the World, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 130, Avocets and stilts are monogamous and tend to breed in small colonies near water. The nest scrape, into which eggs are placed, is often lined with vegetation.

   2 more examples

   1931, Deutsche Archiv für Polarforschung, Archiv für Polarforschung in Kiel, Vereinigung zur Förderung des Archivs für Polarforschung, Polarforschung, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Polarforschung, etc., page 72, The breeding in 1966 is apparently the first reported from the Hazen area, although rare breeding in the past is suggested by one very old nest scrape on the study area.

   2006, Jon Hardey and Humphrey Clark, Raptors: A Field Guide to Survey and Monitoring, The Stationery Office, →ISBN, page 15, Criteria for identifying breeding pairs may be variously defined to include pairs that […]; pairs that […]; pairs that repair or build a nest or prepare a nest scrape; […] or pairs that […].