Part natural history, part folklore, part exploration of art and aesthetics, part memoir, a beautiful book that will appeal to bird lovers, readers of literature, and art lovers As an amateur naturalist and nature lover, Janine Burke, art historian and author, has spent many years observing birds. Here is the story of her passion, a personal, wide-ranging, and intimate book that will appeal to all those who love nature, literature, and art. What are nests if not art created by nature? If a nest is not art, how can we account for those exquisite, painstakingly, constructed creations that are decorated, or woven through with feathers, or studded with objects of a particular color or sheen? This book reveals both the art and mystery found in nature and celebrates them with lyricism, insight, and great affection. In the tradition of Longitude, Cod, or The Cello Suites, this memoir is also a short education that encompasses celebration and theory, investigation and memoir, the familiar and the revelatory—as surprising and enticing as any beautiful, intricately constructed nest.