Tom Vezo / Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) sitting on eggs in nest on ground, Long Island, New York

Mike Wilkes / Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) on nest. England, UK, Europe

John Cancalosi / Stone curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus) calling on nest. England, UK, Europe

Martin H Smith / Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) eating Oystercatcher eggs on South Uist, Scotland. Introduced to the island in 1974, the hedgehog population has increased dramatically and is causing populations of nes...

Paul Hobson / Avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) being mobbed by Common tern (Sterna hirundo) over nesting ground, Texel Holland May

Wild Wonders of Europe / Widstrand / Eastern white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus), aerial view of flock nesting on ground within Danube delta rewilding area, Romania, June 2012

Wild Wonders of Europe / Widstrand / Eastern white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus), aerial view of flock nesting on ground within Danube delta rewilding area, Romania, June 2012

Wild Wonders of Europe / Widstrand / Eastern white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus), aerial view of flock nesting on ground within Danube delta rewilding area, Romania, June 2012

Wild Wonders of Europe / Widstrand / Eastern white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus), aerial view of flock nesting on ground within Danube delta rewilding area, Romania, June 2012

Sumio Harada / Columbian Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus columbianus) carrying nesting materials, Glacier National Park, Montana

Mark MacEwen / Brown booby (Sula leucogaster) the island is a Bird and Turtle nesting ground, Rain Island, National Park, Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Yukihiro Fukuda / Masked booby (Sula dactylatra) mating pair deciding where to lay their eggs, which they do directly on the ground, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July

Yukihiro Fukuda / Red tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubicauda) protective parent with chick at nest on ground, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July

Yukihiro Fukuda / Lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel) nesting on top of shrub with Red tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubicauda) nesting directly on ground below, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July

Yukihiro Fukuda / Brown booby (Sula leucogaster) male incubating egg at ground nest site, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July

Yukihiro Fukuda / Masked booby (Sula dactylatra) both parents take turns to brood eggs on ground nest, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July

Yukihiro Fukuda / Masked booby (Sula dactylatra) returning to brood solitary egg on ground nest, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July

Yukihiro Fukuda / Masked booby (Sula dactylatra) both parents take turns to brood solitary egg on ground nest, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July

Loic Poidevin / Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) totally camouflaged on ground, Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan, India, March

Charlie Summers / Southern Ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) gathering nesting material in a riverbed in Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania

Charlie Summers / Southern Ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) gathering nesting material in a riverbed in Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania

Dave Watts / Bush stone curlew (Burhinus grallarius) nesting on ground, Queensland, Australia

Loic Poidevin / Madagascar magpie robin (Copsychus albospecularis) female on ground collecting nesting material, Madagascar.

Gerrit Vyn / Leach's storm-petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) adult walking to its nest burrow at night on St. Lazaria Island, Alaska, USA, June. The tiny island hosts more than half-a-million nesting Leach's and Fork...

Mike Read / Little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) settling on eggs, Blashford Lakes WT Reserve, Hampshire, UK June

Mike Read / Little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) settling on eggs, Blashford Lakes WT Reserve, Hampshire, UK June

Mike Read / Little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) adult looking after newly hatched chicks at nest, Blashford Lakes WT Reserve, Hampshire, UK June

Dave Watts / Buff breasted kingfisher / White tailed kingfisher (Tanysiptera sylvia) adult at entrance to nesting hole in termite mound, north Queensland, Australia

Oriol Alamany / Darwin's rhea (Rhea pennata), resting on ground, Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile

Kevin Schafer / Male Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) defending nesting territory on communal nesting ground, Sulawesi, Indonesia, Endangered

Christophe Courteau / Sign warning of ground nesting birds, Ny-Alesund International Research village, Spitzbergen, Svalbard, Norway, July 2011 / Panneau d'avertissement pour indiquer la nidification d'oiseaux dans le v...

Roger Powell / Ground nest and four eggs of Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) camouflaged on woodland floor, Wolsingham, Co. Durham, UK, April

Roger Powell / Ground nest and four eggs of Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) in woodland, Wolsingham, Co. Durham, UK, April

Gerrit Vyn / Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) nest containing four eggs. Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA, June.

Hanne & Jens Eriksen / Arctic skua {Stercorarius parasiticus} dark and light phase, pair on nesting ground, Iceland, June

Hanne & Jens Eriksen / Arctic skua {Stercorarius parasiticus} dark and light phase, pair on nesting ground, Iceland, June

Nick Upton / Red tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) flying into nest hole at base of tree stump. Wiltshire garden, UK, June.

Gerrit Vyn / Adult Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) incubating eggs on a nest. Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA, June.

Gerrit Vyn / Sanderling (Calidris alba) nest containing an incomplete clutch of three eggs. Bathurst Island, Nunavut, Canada. June.

Gerrit Vyn / Incubating adult female King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) in concealment posture on a nest. Bathurst Island, Nunavut, Canada. June.

Gerrit Vyn / Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) chicks and eggs in nest surrounded by Collared Lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) prey. Bathurst Island, Nunavut, Canada. June.

Gerrit Vyn / Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) incubating at nest. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA

Dave Bevan / Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) turning eggs in nest, Wales, UK

Andy Sands / Trap set for Stoat on junction of drystone walls, to protect ground nesting birds from predators, Upper Teesdale, Co Durham, England, UK, April 2008

Andy Sands / Dead Stoat {Mustela erminea} in rail trap alongside drystone wall, trapping predators of ground nesting birds, Upper Teesdale, Co Durham, England, UK, April 2008

Andy Sands / Keeper removing Stoat (Mustela erminea) from rail trap, trapping to protect ground nesting birds from predators, Upper Teesdale, Co Durham, England, UK, April 2008

Andy Sands / Rail Trap with eggshell set along drystone wall to trap predators of ground nesting birds, Upper Teesdale, Co Durham, England, UK, April 2008

Andy Sands / Keeper removing Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) from rail trap, trapping to protect ground nesting birds from predators, Upper Teesdale, Co Durham, England, UK, April 2008

Wild Wonders of Europe / Nill / European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) carrying nesting material, Bulgaria, May 2008

Wild Wonders of Europe / Nill / European Souslik / Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) carrying nesting material and being chased by European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) Bulgaria, May 2008

Konrad Wothe / Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis) with collected nesting material, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Kerstin Hinze / European souslik / ground squirrel (Spermophilus / Citellus citellus) running with nesting material in mouth, Bulgaria May 2008

Roy Mangersnes / Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) arriving early at nesting ground in Norway, with snow still on the ground in March

Tim Laman / Medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis) with nest material. Floreana / Charles Island, Galapagos, June

Mark Taylor / Flock of Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) using a penguin walkway to get to their nesting ground from the sea. Antarctica.

Hanne & Jens Eriksen / Kentish plover {Charadrius alexandrinus} female on ground nest with two eggs, wet belly feathers, Barr al Hikman, Oman

John Cancalosi / Columbian Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus columbianus) gathering grass for nest, Montana, USA

John Cancalosi / Columbian Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus columbianus) gathering grass for nest, Montana, USA

Martha Holmes / Fiery-necked nightjar on ground at night (Caprimulgus pectoralis) South Luangwe NP, Zambia

Martin H Smith / Woodcock camouflaged on nest on ground (Scolopax rusticola) UK

Pete Oxford / Madagascar spiny tailed lizard female digging nest (Oplurus cuvieri) Madagascar

Rolf Nussbaumer / Arctic skua / Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) on ground nest, Gednjehogda, Norway. June 2001

Rolf Nussbaumer / Male Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) on nest with newly hatched chicks and an egg, Gednjehogda, Norway. June 2001

Ingo Arndt / Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) on ground nest, Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Christian Ziegler / White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica) eating Crocodile hatchling, blamed for disappearance of several species of ground-nesting understory birds, Barro Colorado, Panama

Michael & Patricia Fogden / Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis) camouflaged on ground nest, incubating eggs among leaf litter, Peru

Tui De Roy / Small Ground-Finch (Geospiza fuliginosa) female nesting in cactus, Academy Bay, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Tui De Roy / Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) breeding colony on snow-free high ground, Couverville Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica

Paul Hobson / Woodcock on ground {Scolopax rusticola} Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK

Dave Watts / Red tailed tropic bird {Phaethon rubricauda} nesting on ground, Australia.

Martin H Smith / Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) eating Oystercatcher eggs on South Uist, Scotland. Introduced to the island in 1974, the hedgehog population has increased dramatically and is causing populations of nes...

Dietmar Nill / Skylark at nest on ground (Alauda arvensis) Germany.

Tom Vezo / Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia) parent incubating eggs on ground nest, Rio Grande Valley, Texas

Flip de Nooyer / Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) flock nesting on ground, Europe

Sumio Harada / Columbian Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus columbianus) with nesting material in mouth, Rocky Mountains, North America

Tom Vezo / American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) adult with two eggs on ground, Long Island, New York

Tom Vezo / Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) parent in ground nest with chicks, Adirondack Mountains, New York

Konrad Wothe / Eurasian Thick-knee (Burhinus oedicnemus) sitting on ground

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) in pond prior to departure for nesting grounds up north, spring, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico

Tom Vezo / Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) sitting on eggs in nest on ground, Long Island, New York

Tom Vezo / Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) sitting on eggs in nest on ground, Long Island, New York

Tom Vezo / Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) sitting on eggs in nest on ground, Long Island, New York

Tom Vezo / Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) on ground nest, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Tom Vezo / Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) sitting on eggs in nest on ground, Long Island, New York

Duncan Usher / European Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) with nesting material in mouth, Europe

Konrad Wothe / Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis) sitting in nest on ground, Taymyr Peninsula, Siberia, Russia

Konrad Wothe / Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) male incubating eggs on ground nest, Europe

Jim Brandenburg / Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) incubating eggs on ground, North America

Jose B. Ruiz / Nightjar at nest on ground, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Nightjar on ground, woodland, Spain (Caprimulgus europaeus)

Jose B. Ruiz / Nightjar at nest on ground, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Stone Curlew at nest on ground, Spain

Artur Tabor / Eagle owl chicks (Bubo bubo) in nest. East Poland, Europe

Doug Wechsler / Canada goose brooding goslings (Branta canadensis). Pine Barrens, New Jersey, USA

John Cancalosi / Great skua (Catharacta skua) on nest. Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK, Europe

Yuri Shibnev / Nesting ground of Hooded crane {Grus monacha} Sikhote-Alin range, Primorsky, Russia. May (Ussuriland).