A Lost Robin's Nest

I love painting nests but to paint them well you need to understand them and their individual construction. As a boy I used to build them, put painted clay or blown bantam eggs in and try to fool my parents or friends that they were real. I got quite good at it, reading of what building materials different species used and where they might be hidden.
Painted completely from my knowledge and imagination, I wanted this picture to have a "Victorian" feel ...and a sadness too, as though the nest and contents have been pulled from their hiding place to be viewed as an ornament.