Bird, Nest & Egg

This book is meticulously designed as a large-format visual portfolio of the world's most distinctive birds, whose nesting behavior and natural beauty are celebrated in beautifully detailed graphite and watercolor illustrations-all based on actual field studies. The exquisitely detailed bird, nest, and egg portraits are framed by details that include building techniques, materials, egg characteristics (shapes, colors, and number in a clutch), hatchlings and chicks, and parenting behaviors. Nowhere is avian ingenuity more beautifully expressed than in the construction of nests. The book is organized into chapters based on species' nesting techniques: South America's crested oropendola, whose intricate, pendulous, sphere-like nests hang in trees like holiday ornaments; Arizona's ferruginous pygmy owl, whose nests are hidden in vicious yet protective thorns and bristles of giant saguaro cacti; and peregrine falcons, who scrape out a shallow depression called an eyrie in the sides of cliffs or-in urban settings-ledges on skyscrapers. This beautiful book celebrates the very idea of making a warm, cozy home. It is also a timely reminder of the diversity, beauty, and ingenuity of the avian world.