Dictator birdhouses
Artists Bruce Gilchrist and Jo Joelson of London Fieldworks built an installation of birdhouses based on the palaces of dictators like Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, and Nicolae Ceausescu. Seen here is the animal house embodiment of Ceausescu's Palace of Parliament in Bucharest. Creative Review has more. Despot Birdhouses
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This is awesome.
Can I get one in Rococo Red?
Looks like a good home for purple Martins.
--Mike
Will the resident sparrows lob shells at those pesky heathen squirrels next door?
You do have to admire the creativity of people with way too much time on their hands.
Depending on where it's placed and the design of the houses or "apartments," there could be bird-on-bird ethnic cleansing. I can't remember if it was sparrows or starlings, but I've heard one of those will commonly invade purple martin birdhouses, chasing off the martins, pulling nests and eggs out and dumping them on the ground. I'm sure it happens among other species too.
Plus you got your species of birds who like to lay their eggs on somebody else's nest, preferably a smaller species, to be raised by the clueless, occupied mother bird. If it works according to their evil plan (I mean, their evolved instinct?), the invading adopted chick is a little larger than his adoptive siblings and muscles them out of the way when mom brings food.
To the designers: please don't get any ideas on how to incorporate this into your despot house designs.