Bird's Nest Fungus

The Nidulariaceae, commonly known as the bird's nest fungi, are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales whose fruiting bodies resemble tiny nests filled with eggs. They are saprobic, feeding on decaying organic matter, and are frequently found growing on rotting wood and in soils enriched with wood chips or bark mulch, with a distribution spanning most of the world's ecological regions. The family's five genera, Crucibulum, Cyathus, Mycocalia, Nidula and Nidularia, are distinguished from one another by differences in shape and in the structure of their egg-like peridioles.