Isolated trees often are used for nests, including hackberry, mesquite, elm, oak and orchard trees. Nests also are built on windmill towers and the crossbars of utility poles. Nesting behavior follows that of most songbirds. Only one egg is laid each day, usually during the morning, and the female will not begin incubating until the last egg of her clutch is laid. She lays four to six eggs, often raising two broods during the summer.
Eggs are cream-white with some spots and brown blotches.
Incubation activities are conducted solely by the female, although the male may occasionally sit over the eggs to hide them or protect them when the female is off the nest. The male scissortail's primary duties are to guard the territory from intruders and predators and to catch food, which he brings to the incubating female. The female develops a brood patch on her breast during the breeding season. This patch is devoid of feathers and allows for a more efficient transfer of the female's body heat to the eggs. After an incubation period of 12-14 days, the eggs hatch.