Nests

An exquisitely illustrated, one-of-a-kind celebration of the hidden beauty of nature and the ingenuity of birds.

Susan Ogilvy started painting bird nests almost by accident. One day, while tidying up her garden after a storm, she found a chaffinch nest—a strange, sodden lump on the grass under a fir tree. She carried it inside and placed it on a newspaper. Over the next few hours, as the water drained out of it, the sodden lump blossomed into a mossy jewel. She was amazed and dropped everything to make a painting of the nest at exact life size.

This was the start of an obsession. Ogilvy has since painted more than fifty bird nests from life, each time marveling at its ingenious construction. Every species of bird has its own vernacular, sourcing its materials—most commonly twigs, roots, grasses, reeds, leaves, moss, lichen, hair, feathers, and cobwebs; less usually, mattress stuffing and string—according to local availability. Ogilvy would, of course, never disturb nesting birds; instead, she relies upon serendipity, which is why all her nests have either been abandoned after fulfilling their purpose or displaced by strong winds.

Although "Nests" showcases the specimens she has found near her homes in Somerset and on the Isle of Arran, its subject matter is by no means only British, since these same birds can be found all over Europe, Scandinavia, and as far afield as Russia, Turkey, and North Africa. This wondrous book is all the more special for its rarity. Few modern books exist specifically on the subject of bird nests; the most recent among the author's reference works was published in 1932. Exquisitely designed and packaged, "Nests" will be an essential addition to the libraries of all nature lovers.