On the Nest: North American Birds, Nests, and Eggs Book

Secrets of the Nest offers a remarkable, original view of the lives of North American birds. It is easy to take eggs and nests for granted until you consider a few simple facts of bird life: eggs roll, they break, yet the survival of each species depends on protecting these fragile things, often five or six of them at once, far out on a branch, twenty feet off the ground - and birds don't have hands. "How did this whole rather absurd situation come about," Joan Dunning asks, "these birds caring for eggs in high, dangerous places?" Each nest, she discovers, is "one further evolutionary answer to the enduring question, 'How can I keep my eggs safe?'" Each form fills certain needs, solves certain problems. The seagoing murre lays its eggs on a few square inches of bare rock ledge; a hummingbird builds a tiny nest indistinguishable from a knot on a twig; a kingfisher burrows into the side of a stream bank; an oriole weaves a cozy basket suspended in the fork of the highest elm twig; an eagle builds a two-ton nest that may eventually kill the tree supporting it. But behind each nest stands an evolutionary logic that makes it the right nest for that bird. A bird's nest reflects its behavior as well as its evolution, and Joan Dunning shows vividly, in words and drawings, the breeding and nesting habits of three dozen familiar species: how the birds stake out territories, drive off rivals, pair up with their mates, build their nests, lay their eggs, and raise their young. Beautifully written, beautifully illustrated, entertaining, and informative, Secrets of the Nest will captivate anyone with an interest in the natural world.

Writer-illustrator Joan Dunning's passionate interest in birds is evident in the vivid details of her jewel-like color plates and dozens of pen-and-ink illustrations. In the inviting style of The Loon, Dunning offers readers a peak inside the nest to observe the path of bird behavior and evolution.