Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
Nests, Hardback Book

Nests Hardback

Hardback

In Stock - usually despatched within 24 hours

Description

An exquisitely illustrated, one-of-a-kind celebration of the hidden beauty of nature and the ingenuity of birdsSusan Ogilvy started painting bird nests almost by accident.

One day, while tidying up her garden after a storm, she found a chaffinch nest - a strange, sodden lump on the grass under a fir tree.

She carried it inside and placed it on a newspaper; over the next few hours, as the water drained out of it, the sodden lump blossomed into a mossy jewel.

She was amazed, and dropped everything to make a painting of the nest at exact life size. This was the start of an obsession; Ogilvy has since painted more than fifty bird nests from life, each time marvelling at its ingenious construction.

Every species of bird has its own vernacular, but sources its materials - most commonly twigs, roots, grasses, reeds, leaves, moss, lichen, hair, feathers and cobwebs, less usually, mattress stuffing and string - according to local availability.

Ogilvy would, of course, never disturb nesting birds; instead she relies upon serendipity, which is why all her nests have either been abandoned after fulfilling their purpose, or displaced by strong winds. Although Nests showcases the specimens she has found near her homes in Somerset and on the Isle of Arran, its subject matter is by no means only British, since these same birds can be found all over Europe, Scandinavia and as far afield as Russia, Turkey and North Africa.

This wondrous book is all the more special for its rarity.

Few modern books exist specifically on the subject of bird nests; the most recent among the author's reference works was published in 1932.

Exquisitely designed and packaged, Nests will be an essential addition to the libraries of all nature lovers.

Information

Other Formats

Save 9%

£20.00

£18.05

In Stock - usually despatched within 24 hours
Add to Basket
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information