Some lovely nest and egg illustrations from an old book -- it is out of copyright and the images can be used as you'd like. If you'd like a copy of the actual book, keep an eye out for “Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio“. It was written in 1877 by Genevieve Jones.
I've used these in some upcoming projects and thought you'd like a copy as well. Individual images below -- but scroll to the bottom of the page for a file that contains them all, digitized and saved in different sizes to make them journal friendly
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What to do with Vintage Bird Nest Graphics
These have all been created by the same artist with the same palette so they work beautifully together! Use in junk journals, scrapbookin, card making and more.
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Find the MagpiePrintables free resource library here, it is packed with good stuff, including the shabby pleated pocket shown below:
American Robin
Here's what the author has to say about this one:
“The nest illustrated was taken on the 19th of May, 1879, from a small elm tree growing in a field near a road. It represents the ordinary position, size, and materials of construction; the foundation contains but little material, this consists of weed-stems and mud; the superstructure is composed of finer weed stems, fibres, grasses, a few chicken-feathers, and the usual plaster of mud; the lining is of blades of grass, which are very unevenly distributed.“
Dont right click to save, you won’t get a clear image. Instead, scroll down and download a complete high resolution pdf file with all the bird nest Graphics.
Oriole Nest
This one hangs from a branch:
Cuckoo Bird Nest
“The nest figured was taken on May 21st, 1878, from a thicket overgrown with climbing vines, in a low piece of woods near the Scioto River, Pickaway county. It was placed about seven feet from the ground, supported by the dead branches of a thorn tree, together with the stems of ivy which climbed about the tree.“
Great Carolina Wren
I enjoy how detailed she is about the nests and where she found them!
“The nest from which the drawing was made was found on the 19th of May, 1879; it contained six eggs nearly hatched. It was built in a box nailed against the inside of an old barn and used only a short time before as a hen’s nest. When taken possession of by the Wren, the box was nearly full of straw and grass. In this, near one corner, a cavity was made to receive the nest. The illustration shows the nest as it was lifted from the cavity, some of the grasses still hanging to it.”
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More Vintage Bird Nest Graphics
The attached file has the nests above plus a few more in various sizes and shapes -- I hope you find them useful and would love to see what you make with them!