Into the Nest: Intimate Views of the Courting, Parenting, and Family Lives of Familiar Birds

This is an in-depth look at the breeding behaviour of a selection of birds common to North America. It is a very beautiful book, with a selection of up close, detailed and gorgeous glossy pictures. The book starts out with an overview of bird breeding behaviour in general and then goes in to the specifics of a selection of over 30 species looking at courtship, mating, egg-laying, incubation and raising young. I was surprised how informative this book is, as at first glance it looks like a glossy book with lots of lovely pictures. Personally, I do not know much about the mating lives of birds in North America, and I learnt a great deal from this book. There is of course some overlap with similarities in UK species such as Mallards, Nuthatch and Swallows. With the combination of text and pictures this book takes you on a real journey through the stages of these 'family lives' and I would recommend it to anyone looking to expand their knowledge in the area or just wanting an interesting read with some gorgeous photography.

Book reviewed by Hazel Evans