Sharon Beals' gorgeous photographs of nests offer a new window onto the life and beauty of birds. Drawn from the collections of the California Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UC Berkeley, and the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, these birds' nests from around the world offer astonishing insight into the intricate detail wrought by nature's most fastidious architects. Lovely images of nests and eggs are set against rich black backgrounds, and are accompanied by fascinating and informative portraits—conveyed through words and illustrations—of the birds that built them. A beautiful volume, Nests is the perfect gift for birders, bird lovers, and anyone captivated by the fleeting and fascinating splendor of the natural world.
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Drawn from the exquisite collections of three California academies and institutes, the nests in these delicate, detailed images reflect the meticulous care and skill of their creators-50 species of birds, each described in facing-page text that is as free of scientific jargon as it is interesting. --American Photo magazine In her new book, Nests: Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them, photographer Sharon Beals brings to light an often-secreted piece of the lives of birds. From the collections of the California Academy of Sciences, the Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, she has selected some of most ecologically unique, visually stunning, and just plain ingenious nests built by birds both familiar and exotic, from the marsh wren (Cistothorus palustris) to Kauai's akekee (Loxops caeuleirostris). The nests are, by turn, miraculously intricate, strikingly simple, sinister, strange, or sweet, but all are a testament to the resourcefulness of creatures who lack complex tools but have nonetheless evolved some of the most sophisticated, diverse architecture of any organisms on the planet. Beals' beautiful photographs, a sampling of hundreds of nests carefully collected and preserved, are a testament to the power of these miniature masterpieces to inspire our imaginations and awaken our powers of observation. --Audubon magazine blog Small architectural marvels were hidden in storage for decades at the California Academy of Sciences until 2007, when artist Sharon Beals began unearthing them from cardboard boxes and wooden cabinets. She wanted to photograph nature's miniature masterpieces-birds' nests-which had been collected over the course of a century from a variety of species. Her images first appeared in Audubon's March-April 2008 issue and on its cover; they soar again in her elegant new book, Nests (Chronicle Books, $29.95). One by one, the structures appear in stark relief on a black background, exposing their exquisite intricacies-colored thread in an Altamira oriole's creation, seashells in a Caspian tern's-and, often, intact eggs. On facing pages, an illustration of the builder perches above companion text describing the species' nesting habits and construction methods. "Each nest is a scientific treasure trove," write the academy's Jack Dumbacher and Maureen Flannery in the foreword. "Each nest is also an amazing work of art." So is Beals's book. -- Julie Liebach, editors choice, Audubon magazine "An intricate, illuminating window into the natural artistry of avian architecture." - Shelf Awareness
About the Author
Award-winning San Francisco photographer Sharon Beals is author of several books including What Dogs Do and What Cats Are. She lives in San Francisco.
Jack Dumbacher and Maureen Flannery are ornithologists at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.
Author and naturalist Scott Weidensaul has written more than two dozen books on natural history.
Jack Dumbacher and Maureen Flannery are ornithologists at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.
Author and naturalist Scott Weidensaul has written more than two dozen books on natural history.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The nesting instinct, in beautiful photographs,
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This review is from: Nests: Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them (Hardcover)
I've seen proofs of this book and the author's original prints. This book offers a beautiful set of nests and eggs found in closed museum collections. The color, texture, and sheer ingenuity of these natural, nurturing constructions are amazing, captured in superb still-life images. Who needs art when nature creates such surprising variety? A wonderfully unique gift book, in my opinion (weddings? baby showers)? But keep a quiet, eloquent copy for yourself. You'll never look at birds, or the world around us, in quite the same way again.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating and beautiful!,
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This review is from: Nests: Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them (Hardcover)
This is not only a beautiful book, the information in it about birds and their nesting habits is fascinating! This book has become one of my treasures. The only negative is that the book was not packed in such a way that the gorgeous shiny black jacket is protected. As a result, it was marred. It should be shrink wrapped at the publisher to keep it from being damaged because the cover is a work of art in itself.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully presented images,
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This review is from: Nests: Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them (Hardcover)
I saw a show of Sharon Beals' Nest photos about a year ago and have not forgotten them. I was pleased to find this book. Her photographs are stunning; quietly and respectfully raising each nest to an iconic level. What's really great about this book, is the information presented behind each nest. (Some of these have been in the archives of the Academy of Sciences in SF for generations.) And more importantly, she describes the fragility of the environments that birds live in. We live in a rapidly changing world and we're losing many of nature's precious treasures. I highly recommend this book!
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