The cities of Angkor Wat are more vibrant than ever, if you consider the biodiversity of the forests that have engulfed the ruins. Birds and insects, monkeys and bats flock to live in the strangler figs and cottonwoods that have made the stones their home. 

These young storks sit atop a power pole in Hungary. Storks play a rich part in human culture, reportedly delivering babies to lucky families. Storks prefer urban habitats and human structures for their nest sites. These storks are nesting atop a Soviet-era utility pole, and the surrounding neighborhood is small buildings with sharply slanting rooftops made of clay tiles. 

Bird nests are collected after nesting season has ended, documenting the use of human artifacts as desirable elements. This nest was collected in Berkeley, CA and includes plastic ribbon and human hair as nesting material. Birds will collect human artifacts for adornment, for their physical properties like softness or structure, or for pest control or safety. 

The collapsed roof of this 17th century building is the ideal habitat for nesting birds and insects. WInd-blown seeds combine with seeds carried by birds to carpet the rooftop. Inside are bats, swallows, and in places the walls are adorned with lichen and mosses. 

These Asian honeybees, Apis cerana, have colonized the gaps in an ancient temple in Borobudur, Indonesia. This species typcially requires a cavity to build nests, indicating a more complex structure below what we can see here. 

These European honeybees, Apis mellifera, have colonized a floor in Marin County, California. Colony was discovered when it swarmed, and residents could not be convinced that the hive posed no risk, so was relocated. 

In cities worldwide the return of the swallows brings the beginning of spring. Swallows are well adapted to urban environments, where they build their ceramic nests under the shelter of human structures. 

This hive of European honeybees, Apis mellifera, have colonized a couch that was abandoned in open space on a frequently visited trail. This hive was transplanted into a standard hive box and relocated to JB's apiary in Sausalito. 

Mosses have colonized the base of this fireplug in Sausalito Ca, during the long rainy season. 

This birds nest was discovered while pruning a Sango Kaku Japanese maple in Berkeley, CA.  Most likely a species of Sparrow, nest included human hair and dyer lint, both of which may serve as structure and scent cover for the young.