Avian Architects: Quick ID guide to nests and eggs of southern African birds, by Chris and Mathilde Stuart

Avian Architects: Quick ID guide to nests and eggs of southern African birds, by Chris and Mathilde Stuart. Penguin Random House South Africa. Imprint: Struik Nature. Cape Town, South Africa 2021. ISBN 9781775847434 / ISBN 978-1-77-584743-4

Avian Architects: Quick ID guide to nests and eggs of southern African birds, by Chris and Mathilde Stuart. Birds' nests come in an astonishing array of shapes and sizes. The first nests were most likely simple scrapes on the ground.

Chris Stuart  Tilde Stuart  

Today stone curlews, terns, plovers, lapwings and the ostrich all lay and incubate their eggs in this type of nest. The next step was to make the nest more homely by adding bits of material around the eggs. Then a few species moved their nests off the ground, into bushes and trees, possibly as protection from predators. These first 'true' nests were probably simple and flimsy stick platforms, similar to those built by pigeons and doves today. The cup nest emerged next - an evolutionary miracle with protective side 'walls' and a soft inner lining that provides more protection for eggs and chicks and, importantly, better insulation to aid incubation. The passerines build this type of open nest, while warblers and several of the larks have added other features, such as a domed roof, to conceal their eggs and nestlings from predators. Some species, like the weavers, have gone 'big', creating large, enclosed masterpieces using only their beaks as construction tools. Other birds prefer taking up residence in existing cavities in trees, the ground or earth banks. Such a strategy conserves energy, and keeps nesting birds and their broods safe. Some kingfishers, the wood-hoopoes, rollers, hornbills and parrots make use of natural cavities, while barbets and woodpeckers excavate their own holes in trees, and bee-eaters and some kingfishers in earth banks. This short guide is an introduction to the wonder of birds' nests and eggs. The numbered photographs show a variety of nest designs, eggs and birds. These are paired with the text to help you identify the nest types and the species that built them. Photographs of the eggs show colour and pattern variations where they occur. In addition, the average length of the eggs is given. Always keep a safe distance at nesting sites and take care not to disturb the birds, their eggs, or their chicks. The disturbance or collection of birds' eggs and nests is illegal.

This is an excerpt from Avian Architects: Quick ID guide to nests and eggs of southern African birds, by Chris and Mathilde Stuart.

Title: Avian Architects
Subtitle: Quick ID guide to nests and eggs of southern African birds
Author: Chris Stuart; Mathilde Stuart
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
Imprint: Struik Nature
Cape Town, South Africa 2021
ISBN 9781775847434 / ISBN 978-1-77-584743-4
Softcover, 10 x 18 cm, 40 pages, throughout colour photographs