Egg & Nest

by Rosamond Wolff Purcell

The beauty of the robin s egg is not lost on the child who discovers the nest, nor on the collector of nature s marvels. Such instances of wonder find fitting expression in the photographs of Rosamond Purcell, whose work captures the intricacy of nests and the aesthetic perfection of bird eggs. Mining the ornithological treasures of the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Purcell produces pictures as lovely and various as the artifacts she photographs. The dusky blue egg of an emu becomes a planet. A woodpecker s nest bears an uncanny resemblance to a wooden shoe. A resourceful rock dove weaves together scrap metal and spent fireworks. A dreamscape of dancing monkeys emerges from the calligraphic markings of a murre egg.

Alongside Purcell s photographs, Linnea Hall and Rene Corado offer an engaging history of egg collecting, the provenance of the specimens in the photographs, and the biology, conservation, and ecology of the birds that produced them. They highlight the scientific value that eggs and nest hold for understanding and conserving birds in the wild, as well as the aesthetic charge they carry for us.

How has evolution shaped the egg or directed the design of the nest? How do the photographs convey such infinitesimal and yet momentous happenstance? The objects in "Egg & Nest" are specimens of natural history, and in Purcell s renderings, they are also the most natural art.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Animals, Birds, Science, Natural History, Photography

222 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2008

About the author

Rosamond Wolff Purcell is an American photographer.

Reviews

[SmarterLilac · Rating 5 out of 5]

An utterly engrossing book. With beautiful photographs and eloquent, accessible text, this is great for anyone who wants to learn more about birds as reflected through their dwellings. Most fascinating are the photos of the unusual nests, like the shot of a hummingbird's 50 millimeter home, built in the curve of a rope swing. Additionally, some readers may enjoy the sections on the nest-collectors themselves, who certainly fall among science's more eccentric (and conscientious) specimens.

[Aya McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

♡ gorgeous perf

[Sherry (sethurner) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The heads up for this beautiful coffee-table sized book came from an art blogger, and the photographs are lovely enough to be in a gallery. Page after page of gorgeous photos of all sorts of common and exotic nests, and tenderly tinted eggs, many speckled to covered with calligraphic squiggles make this a book one might return to over and over. Besides the illustrations, there are two good introductory essays. I was particularly interested in the history of amateurs and scientists who collect eggs and nests. This was something I knew little about despite the fact that my grandfather was an avid collector of birds' eggs.

[peg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a find! I discovered this book on a sale rack this past spring and thought it would make a nice coffee table book. Shame on me. This book is exquisite. I was mezmerized by the detailed photography and insightful narrative on the history of egg collecting. "Egg and Nest" provides more than a glimpse into the science of orinthology world and allows readers to witness the artistic design of the natural world.

[LINDA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book showing the nests and eggs of various birds. Photographs are perfectly executed, vivid and rich colors and textures.

Side note: It would be an extremely artistic idea to decorate eggs for Easter using the colors and patterns of the eggs in this book as inspiration. (Using natural dyes/pigment would also be preferable.)

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha, I see now that Rosamond Purcell also contributed to the book with the subtitle Where Art and Science Meet. These photographs are precisely there. The nests are so real they look fake.

And, what is it about eggs? The answer is so obvious. And still mesmerizingly interesting.

[Brigette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous

[cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful!!

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What gorgeous photography!!!

[Janie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many gorgeous specimens. I didn't know the red-winged blackbird (a favorite of mine) has calligraphic eggs.

[Charles M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A birder's delight with essays and pictures of very obscure bird eggs and nests collected through the ages.

[Diane]

Collaborative