Istanbul takes bird houses very seriously, and always has – seriously enough to attach palatial digs for feathered residents to their own human-sized buildings. In fact, the oldest known bird house in Istanbul can still be spotted on the side of the Büyükçekmece Bridge, dating back to the 16th century. The charters for new mosques often included provisions for feeding the birds, and sometimes even allocated huge amounts of gold to look after them. The practice was thought to attract good luck.

Today, you can wander through the cities of Istanbul, Bursa and Edirne and gaze up at the historic structures to find intriguing miniatures mounted to their facades, looking far fancier than anything you’ll ever live in yourself. Each one is designed to complement the building to which it’s affixed, or even act as a scale model of it.

They’re designed to shelter any birds that might hang out around the buildings, including sparrows, pigeons, swallows, storks and wisecracks. According to Daily Sabah, the birdhouses had a practical purpose for humans, too, helping to keep the birds from hanging out on the roofs and spilling their droppings all over everything, eventually corroding the walls of mosques, inns and other structures.

But setting up programs to shelter, feed and protect animals is a longstanding tradition in the area (that remains in place today – check out the adorable film ‘Kedi’ about Istanbul’s street cats for a great example.) The Ottomans also helped street dogs find food, set out saucers of water for any animals that needed it, fed wolves and gave medical care to injured storks.

During the Ottoman era, these miniature palaces were painstakingly crafted using elaborate techniques, crowning each one with its very own vaulted or domed roof. Some are three or more stories tall and feature minarets and other architectural details that were popular around the time they were built.

Check out Daily Sabah’s feature article on Ottoman bird houses for lots more details about this endearing tradition.

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This little orange icon tells us just where we need to go on Google Maps – and now it shows birds where home is, too. Designer Shuchun Hsiao has created a series of birdhouses modeled after the Google Maps destination icon, and placed them all over urban locations in China.

The Google Birdhouse Project makes the iconic marker a navigational landmark for birds, and seeing them on walls will undoubtedly cause a few human double-takes.

Says the designer, “Google Map had created a remarkable landmark icon, showing the sites on its street views. To search for a landmark with online google map, we can scroll to zoom from the satellite, soon we’ll be able to wander on streets, virtually.”

“Birds, have the most real experience of google map. Birds can fly through the city, through streets. A birdhouse becomes their destination as google map does.”

Modern architecture is the height of contemporary living – so why are we still putting out dowdy old birdhouses for our feathered neighbors? These gorgeous modern birdhouses are a step forward from the old-fashioned homes our parents and grandparents once hung in the trees to attract families of flying friends.

The Roost line of modern birdhouses adds some class and modern sophistication to any garden. Their unusual shapes and clean lines bring to mind some of the most beloved contemporary (human) architecture in the world.

The Case Study Masters series from Modern Bird Houses honors three specific architects who helped to define mid-century style. Named for J.R. Davidson, Richard Neutra and Ralph Rapson, these birdhouses embody the design sensibilities that made the mid-20th century such an iconic time for architecture.

Box for the Birds was created by designer Michael Oliveri as a weekend project that he would complete with his young daughter. He instead ended up building an ingenious puzzle-like birdhouse that holds together without the use of glue or nails. The Box for the Birds is available in both the classic A-frame shape and a boxier modern model, and both are available in wood, transparent acrylic and a shiny mirror finish.

At the 2011 Royal College of Art graduate show, Jack Smith’s Birdbox was an impressive sight. This two-piece, flat-pack modern birdhouse is held together with tabs fitted through slots – and a few small wood scraps – to create a beautifully simple tree house for small feathered families.