Nests

Nest Nidification: is the act or process of making a nest. We relate in word and song to nest as home. We feather our nests; share a cozy little nest made for two, and then become empty nesters. I have always been drawn to the structure of nests, bird nests in particular. Built for protection of their young, bird nests are abandoned the following year. There is an interesting study by Albert Russel Wallace, A Theory of Bird’s Nests: Shewing the Relation of Certain Sexual Differences of Colour in Birds to their Mode of Nidification (1868). A nineteenth century naturalist, Wallace posits that a relation “exists between the structure, habits, and intelligence of birds, and the kind of nest they construct.” Differing in construction techniques and materials, they are built largely with organic material, though inorganic material is used as well; birds are natural recyclers. It is this structure that is fascinating; many of the nests are woven, some almost knitted into branches of trees. With the passage of time, the underlying architecture appears as a delicate and intricate drawing. s. gayle stevens