Vireo bellii nest with newspaper
Rosamond Purcell
Egg & Nest
"It seems the bird had confiscated a shredded detail from a story involving Adolph S. Ochs, newspaper baron and one-time owner of the New York Times and Chattanooga Times. . . since the story is from Tennessee but the nest was found in Texas, I wonder if the newspaper had been transported by the vireo across state lines."
Photographer-artist-naturalist Rosamond Purcell has a new book out, in collaboration with Linnea Hall and Rene Corado. Harvard University Press describes Egg & Nest
You can view a slideshow of photos and excerpts here. I haven't seen the volume in person, but generally Purcell's books are lovely (I have several). At any rate, it's a good holiday gift for a naturalist/bird-lover.
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It is kind of sad at one level too, though, to see what these birds have to adapt to, thanks to our relentless encroachment on their habitats.
Once, in a rental house, I climbed into the attic to try to evict a squirrel that had taken up residence. Much to my amusement he/she had found a former tenant's secret cache of porn and had crafted a rather cozy nest out of 'Honey Jugs' magazine (I could see the title in the nest). Ironically, my lease ran out before I could get the rodent to move out.
I have birdsnest in my tree woven with blue striped baling twine. I see new birds trying it out, but none haved moved in since the original designer.