Bird, Nest and Egg

A delightful, warmhearted book about home and nesting perfect for bird lovers, naturalists, and anyone charmed by the coziness of a snug nest.

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.

Walter De Raedt is a biologist and ornithologist, and his son, Joris De Raedt, is a scientific illustrator and graphic designer from the acclaimed Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp whose illustrations have appeared in numerous magazines, books, and museums.