Excavator: Ground. This species is a solitary nester (F.K. Stöckhert, 1933; Wolf, 1976). Chambers (1949) found a single burrow in deep shade in a wood. It was being excavated below loose moss, the excavated clay spoil being built up to form a pipe through the moss. In Ireland Stelfox (1927) reports the species nesting in dry, gravelly flats alongside rivers.
Westrich (1989) states that the species will nest in small aggregations.