Some do it on perilous precipices overlooking raging seas. Some do it in cups of twigs glued to the sides of chimneys with their own saliva. Some do it in intricately woven satchels fashioned from natural and man-made fibers. Most linkurl:bird species;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/54775/ build nests and all lay linkurl:eggs,;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/54318/ but no two seem to undertake those activities in exactly the same way. And the eggs themselves! Big, tiny, spotted, swirled, dappled, riotously colored, the purest white. __Egg & Nest__, a new book from Harvard University Press, celebrates this diversity in exquisite photographs taken by Rosamond Purcell and explanatory text by Linnea Hall and Rene Corado about the history of egg and nest collecting, avian biology, conservation and ecology, and the provenance of the specimens in the photographs. From the introduction, "The Allure of Eggs and Nests:"__"Every animal starts life as an egg, but only birds have evolved to enclose their eggs...
Interested in reading more?
Become a Member of
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
