Birdhouses of the World

Book excerpt: View a stunning collection of beautiful birdhouses, plus design specifications and tips to buy your own and what your future feathered tenants will need. Birds love houses as much as humans do. Well, not all birds—mainly the cavity nesters, which are just as comfortable inside a “house” hanging from a branch or mounted on a pole in someone’s backyard as they are inside the trunk of a tree. In Birdhouses of the World, author Anne Schmauss offers readers a collection of beautiful, whimsical, fantastical, stop-you-in-your-tracks-amazing birdhouses created by designers and bird lovers around the world. Schmauss starts off with a brief history of human-made birdhouses, then moved right into descriptions and photos of more than forty birdhouses found in the United States, Canada, England, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and Japan. Most important in her selection is the wow factor. These birdhouses are spectacular in their creativity, ingenuity, and sheer originality. With styles ranging from sleek and modern to elaborate Victorian to hobbit style, they’re as varied as human houses and illustrate the variety of designs found throughout the world. Also included are specifications for each birdhouse, a nesting chart listing the most common cavity nesters in North America and their birdhouse needs, and a guide to what to look for when buying a good birdhouse. Birdhouses of the World offers a captivating look at the creativity that can result when a functional structure is infused with a love birds. Praise for Birdhouses of the World “[Author Anne] Schmauss searched the world to showcase the “coolest” birdhouses and tell their stories. And what birdhouses she has found.” —Los Angeles Times “A fascinating, “stop-you-in-your-tracks” tour of birdhouses crafted by designers and bird enthusiasts all around the world.” —Mother Nature Network “To judge from the imaginative birdhouses in Birdhouses of the World, some birds are inhabiting stylish architecture of the sort most of us can only dream about.” —The Santa Fe New Mexican