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Avian Architecture: How Birds Design, Engineer, and Build
An illustrated guide to how birds design and build their nests
Birds are the most consistently inventive builders, and their nests set the bar for functional design in nature. Avian Architecture describes how birds design, engineer, and build their nests, deconstructing all types of nests found around the world using architectural blueprints and detailed descriptions of the construction processes and engineering techniques birds use. This spectacularly illustrated book features 300 full-color images and more than 35 case studies that profile key species worldwide. Each chapter covers a different type of nest, from tunnel nests and mound nests to floating nests, hanging nests, woven nests, and even multiple-nest avian cities. Other kinds of avian construction—such as bowers and harvest wells—are also featured.
Avian Architecture includes intricate step-by-step sequences, visual spreads on nest-building materials and methods, and insightful commentary by a leading expert.
Birds are the most consistently inventive builders, and their nests set the bar for functional design in nature. Avian Architecture describes how birds design, engineer, and build their nests, deconstructing all types of nests found around the world using architectural blueprints and detailed descriptions of the construction processes and engineering techniques birds use. This spectacularly illustrated book features 300 full-color images and more than 35 case studies that profile key species worldwide. Each chapter covers a different type of nest, from tunnel nests and mound nests to floating nests, hanging nests, woven nests, and even multiple-nest avian cities. Other kinds of avian construction—such as bowers and harvest wells—are also featured.
Avian Architecture includes intricate step-by-step sequences, visual spreads on nest-building materials and methods, and insightful commentary by a leading expert.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
7 people are currently reading
302 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 28, 2013
Very disappointing. Goodfellow has taken a very inspiring subject and made a rather hum-drum, stale book about it. It reads like a kids textbook with boring diagrams and terrible "blueprints" instead of finding prose and more and better photos of the amazing architecture this book is supposed to be about. The nests ARE amazing...this book is NOT.
August 15, 2011
Birds are some of the most successful architects on earth. Buried deep within the avian DNA is a set of blueprints and the urge to execute them.
The primary function of a bird's nest, of course, is to protect and nurture the bird's young, and the one measure of the success of avian architecture is how well the nest fulfills that function. The wonder is that among some 10,000 species of birds on earth, there are 10,000 different blueprints for achieving that purpose.
In Peter Goodfellow's book, Avian Architecture: How Birds Design, Engineer, and Build, he fits those 10,000 designs into twelve different categories and explores iconic examples of each category. He provides us with detailed blueprints and a materials list which show how and of what the nest is constructed. We see pictures of mere scrapes in the sand that are the camouflaged nests of many shorebirds and, at the other extreme of intricacy, woven, hanging nests or tightly constructed mud nests. You might think of them as the difference between a thatch hut in the jungle and a suburban McMansion; regardless, each serves its purpose - to protect and raise a family.
This is a fascinating book for anyone with the slightest interest in birds, and that is most people, I think. Birds are the wild creatures with which humans have the most constant and intimate contact because birds are everywhere. Even for people who pay no attention to them, birds are part of the background color of our lives. If they were missing, that background would be much more dull and gray.
But for anyone who loves birds and has spent time watching a mockingbird or a bluebird or any other backyard bird construct its nest, this book is a revelation of the intricate engineering that goes into those nests. Moreover, nests are a good perspective from which to study the mating and parenting of birds because they are so accessible, i.e., relatively easy to find and to view. Watching one of these marvels of architecture during nesting season can teach the observer much about the particular species as well as the individual bird.
The reader of this book will learn all of that and more. It is highly recommended for those fascinated by birds and by the particular avian intelligence that is at work in their architecture.
(A copy of this book was provided to me free of charge by the publisher for the purposes of this review.)
The primary function of a bird's nest, of course, is to protect and nurture the bird's young, and the one measure of the success of avian architecture is how well the nest fulfills that function. The wonder is that among some 10,000 species of birds on earth, there are 10,000 different blueprints for achieving that purpose.
In Peter Goodfellow's book, Avian Architecture: How Birds Design, Engineer, and Build, he fits those 10,000 designs into twelve different categories and explores iconic examples of each category. He provides us with detailed blueprints and a materials list which show how and of what the nest is constructed. We see pictures of mere scrapes in the sand that are the camouflaged nests of many shorebirds and, at the other extreme of intricacy, woven, hanging nests or tightly constructed mud nests. You might think of them as the difference between a thatch hut in the jungle and a suburban McMansion; regardless, each serves its purpose - to protect and raise a family.
This is a fascinating book for anyone with the slightest interest in birds, and that is most people, I think. Birds are the wild creatures with which humans have the most constant and intimate contact because birds are everywhere. Even for people who pay no attention to them, birds are part of the background color of our lives. If they were missing, that background would be much more dull and gray.
But for anyone who loves birds and has spent time watching a mockingbird or a bluebird or any other backyard bird construct its nest, this book is a revelation of the intricate engineering that goes into those nests. Moreover, nests are a good perspective from which to study the mating and parenting of birds because they are so accessible, i.e., relatively easy to find and to view. Watching one of these marvels of architecture during nesting season can teach the observer much about the particular species as well as the individual bird.
The reader of this book will learn all of that and more. It is highly recommended for those fascinated by birds and by the particular avian intelligence that is at work in their architecture.
(A copy of this book was provided to me free of charge by the publisher for the purposes of this review.)
June 29, 2011
Birds are the most consistently inventive builders, and their nests set the bar for functional design in nature. Avian Architecture describes how birds design, engineer, and build their nests, deconstructing all types of nests found around the world using architectural blueprints and detailed descriptions of the construction processes and engineering techniques birds use.
February 10, 2013
A fascinating book! Yet another dimension to bird behavior. I paticularly enjoyed the discussion about Bower bird display sites. I am constatntly amazed at bird behavior and what birds can achieve only using their beaks (good thing they do not have opposable thumbs).
September 14, 2022
One “reviewer” claims it reads like a children’s book. OK! I teach a class to pre-teens on bird nests. This book adds to that bundle of knowledge. I found it interesting with a “wow” factor.
June 23, 2017
This is a book that one can share with young readers because of its excellent graphics and pictures. I think it could be a read level 4th grade. Having this is a school library it could arouse interest in birds for many classes do link to a bird cam (usually eagles or hawks) in spring. I was surprised at the number of different kinds of nests for I had never listed them. The step by step analysis of how nests are built arouses my admiration for the birds building them using (literally) only their heads/beaks and feet. The last chapter deals with edible nests, that is, one we consume. While I expect we are all familiar with Chinese bird's nest soup, these nests are used by many others, for centuries. Nero's physician, in fact, made a medicine from these swiftest' nests. This last chapter also discusses food stores, which different birds construct ("pantries, granaries and orchards"). All in all a very interesting book.
September 24, 2021
This is a very interesting book with clear illustrations and descriptions of nests.
The nest building activities of the birds is concise and clear.
The pictures are beautiful.
The nest building activities of the birds is concise and clear.
The pictures are beautiful.
June 3, 2023
Libro bastante interesante para conocer sobre los distintos nidos de las aves, información clara con ejemplos visuales. Las ilustraciones son de muy buena calidad.
September 12, 2016
Ever since I read the excellent "Animal Architects: Building and the Evolution of Intelligence", by Carol and James Gould, I have been fascinated with bird nest building. This book, by Peter Goodfellow, is less interested in trying to figure out what is going on in the minds of the builders, but goes into more detail on exactly how the nest is built.
The different chapters are divided, not by bird order or family, but by nest type. I was a bit surprised that the two do not correlate especially well. Some closely related bird species make similar nests, but many do not, and many species of not-at-all-closely-related bird make extremely similar nests.
It goes roughly in order of complexity, from nests which seem hardly worth of the name, being mostly just a slight depression in the soil, up to nests so capacious that other, smaller birds build their own nests in the side of that nest. We learn a lot about what birds like to use for materials: I was not previously aware of how many birds use spider silk to tie things together.
I also was not aware of how many birds spend a lot of effort building their nest, then abandon it to build another in the same general area the next year. The current thinking is that this has to do with parasites. It's kind of like if humans, instead of trying to get rid of cockroaches or mold or whatever, just abandoned the house and built a new one in the back yard the next year. But then, most humans nowadays don't build their own house.
I couldn't help from anthropomorphizing, wondering if the adult bird has memories of the nest they grew up in that have the same emotional impact as my memories of my parents' (or grandparents') house. On the one hand, probably not, but on the other hand maybe that's how they know what it should look like, when it comes time for them to build one?
There also seems to be a lot of variation between species as to the division of labor. Some birds split the task of building the nest, some have only one gender build the nest, and there are even species where the male builds the nest, walling up the female inside, with only a small opening through which he passes food, until the young are old enough to leave. Strangest of all, to me, are the bower birds, which build somewhat-nest-like displays which the female uses to decide who to mate with. However, no eggs are laid in the bower (that happens in a female-built, fairly ordinary looking cup-shaped nest), and nothing else but showing off for females, and occasionally mating, ever happens at the bower. Imagine if men all spent their adult lives working on making the most impressive bachelor pad, and women built separate, entirely ordinary small houses where they raised the children, without any involvement from the men. It seems odd to me, but then humans are odd in their own ways.
There are a lot of pictures in the book, both photographic and illustrative, and they really are very well done. There are a lot of procedures in nest-building where a text description wouldn't make much sense, but a series of illustrations does quite nicely. I found this an excellent book to read a few pages at a time in bed, just before falling asleep. There is something comforting about seeing all of the many ways that birds can make a cozy (to them) home for themselves, and it puts my mind in a good state for going to sleep. I only wish I were as dedicated a house-builder as they.
The different chapters are divided, not by bird order or family, but by nest type. I was a bit surprised that the two do not correlate especially well. Some closely related bird species make similar nests, but many do not, and many species of not-at-all-closely-related bird make extremely similar nests.
It goes roughly in order of complexity, from nests which seem hardly worth of the name, being mostly just a slight depression in the soil, up to nests so capacious that other, smaller birds build their own nests in the side of that nest. We learn a lot about what birds like to use for materials: I was not previously aware of how many birds use spider silk to tie things together.
I also was not aware of how many birds spend a lot of effort building their nest, then abandon it to build another in the same general area the next year. The current thinking is that this has to do with parasites. It's kind of like if humans, instead of trying to get rid of cockroaches or mold or whatever, just abandoned the house and built a new one in the back yard the next year. But then, most humans nowadays don't build their own house.
I couldn't help from anthropomorphizing, wondering if the adult bird has memories of the nest they grew up in that have the same emotional impact as my memories of my parents' (or grandparents') house. On the one hand, probably not, but on the other hand maybe that's how they know what it should look like, when it comes time for them to build one?
There also seems to be a lot of variation between species as to the division of labor. Some birds split the task of building the nest, some have only one gender build the nest, and there are even species where the male builds the nest, walling up the female inside, with only a small opening through which he passes food, until the young are old enough to leave. Strangest of all, to me, are the bower birds, which build somewhat-nest-like displays which the female uses to decide who to mate with. However, no eggs are laid in the bower (that happens in a female-built, fairly ordinary looking cup-shaped nest), and nothing else but showing off for females, and occasionally mating, ever happens at the bower. Imagine if men all spent their adult lives working on making the most impressive bachelor pad, and women built separate, entirely ordinary small houses where they raised the children, without any involvement from the men. It seems odd to me, but then humans are odd in their own ways.
There are a lot of pictures in the book, both photographic and illustrative, and they really are very well done. There are a lot of procedures in nest-building where a text description wouldn't make much sense, but a series of illustrations does quite nicely. I found this an excellent book to read a few pages at a time in bed, just before falling asleep. There is something comforting about seeing all of the many ways that birds can make a cozy (to them) home for themselves, and it puts my mind in a good state for going to sleep. I only wish I were as dedicated a house-builder as they.
February 7, 2015
Rather than organizing birds by species, perching behaviors, aerial views and calls, this book does a spectacular job of rethinking avian relationships by focusing on their nests. I deeply appreciated this new way to approach winged wildlife, and cherish the ability to group probable species by identifying nest characteristics.
April 14, 2012
Really liked this book - the layout, pictures & text all work together to simply and clearly present different types of nest construction. There is also a section on bower construction - which can be more elaborate than many nests and even on food "pantries".
July 14, 2011
Wow.
This book is amazing.
You know, if you like birds.
And maybe architecture.
This book is amazing.
You know, if you like birds.
And maybe architecture.
August 7, 2011
Many diagrams and photographs of the many types of bird nests.
February 13, 2012
Found this on the new book shelf. Interesting information, graphics and photography.
June 19, 2012
a lovely science book that will teach you all about how birds build their homes. i do wish there had been a few more photos
March 17, 2013
LOVE THIS BOOK! Birds are my therapy and now I know much more about their lives and homes.....fantastic photos and info!!!!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews