The Thing with Feathers

November 25, 2013
Strycker (Among Penguins), associate editor of Birding magazine, gets in his element, writing about his experiences watching penguins in Antarctica, putting out a deer carcass to assess the olfactory capabilities of turkey vultures, and monitoring the nests of purple-crowned fairy-wrens in the Australian outback. His work is a joy to read when he focuses on the interesting behavior of the birds with which he is obviously enamored, such as the astounding homing skills of pigeons, the uncanny talent of thousands of starlings to dart through the sky collectively without crashing into one another, or the ability of male bowerbirds to use sticks and brightly colored objects to assemble decorative structures that look like works of art. His prose is difficult to stop reading. However, when Strycker attempts to draw lessons, as his subtitle implies, about what it means to be human, he is far less successful. In discussing the evolution of music, ties between humans and birds are only loosely limned. Similarly, when he talks about evolutionary theory, from altruism to mating strategies, he presents little that is new or engaging. This will likely be a fascinating book for those captivated by birds but of only marginal interest to those looking for evolutionary insights into human behavior.

February 1, 2014
Birding associate editor Strycker (Among Penguins: A Bird Man in Antarctica, 2011) backs up his claim that "[b]ird behavior offers a mirror in which we can reflect on human behavior." The author pinpoints experiments beginning in the 1970s that examined the amazing memory of nutcrackers, which were able to survive cold winters at high elevations by stashing pine seeds in the ground. Surpassing the memory skills of most humans, "[i]n one fall season, a single nutcracker may store tens of thousands of pine seeds in as many as 5,000 different mini-caches, which he will retrieve in winter." Strycker writes about how bird fanciers puzzled over this feat, since the birds left no obvious signs of how they did it. By a process of elimination, an ornithologist designed an experiment that demonstrated how the nutcrackers oriented to landmarks in the environment to build three-dimensional mental maps. Even more intriguing are magpies, which join the select company of humans and great apes, elephants, dolphins and orcas in recognizing their own images in mirrors. Seemingly, this is an indication of self-awareness and a capacity for qualities such as empathy. What, then, asks the author, can we say about pet dogs, which fail to self-recognize in mirrors yet do demonstrate empathy? Referencing the behavior of Antarctic penguins, which only jump into the ocean in groups to avoid the seals that feed on them but are calm in the presence of humans, Strycker weighs in on the nurture/nature debate and concludes that, for us and penguins, "emotion itself is innate, fear of particular things is regulated by experience." The author speculates that the behavior of fairy-wrens, a species that sometimes assists feeding nonrelated birds, serves as an expression of altruism in nature, and he attributes the abilities of homing pigeons to the intelligent use of sensory clues. A delightful book with broad appeal.

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January 1, 2014

Here is good reading on a dazzling variety of avian subjects, including connections between birds and humans. Birder and bird photographer Strycker (Among Penguins) divides his book into three sections: "Body," "Mind," and "Spirit." In the first section, he explores the homing abilities of pigeons, the flocking abilities of starlings, vultures' sense of smell, unusual irruptive flights of owls, and the pugnaciousness of hummingbirds. The "Mind" section features coverage of parrots' attraction to music, food hoarding in species of crows, and penguins' particular fears. "Spirit" examines bowerbird courtship, intergenerational cooperative behavior in some bird species, and the apparent love among albatrosses. Strycker writes engagingly and with extensive documentation; his notes and sources contain veritable minichapters of additional information. VERDICT Now that anthropomorphic approaches to studying animals are gaining respectability, Strycker's book is all the more relevant. A fine choice for birders and readers in natural history. With minimal illustration.--Henry T. Armistead, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2014
Birds are fascinating, and the more we humans study them, the more similarities we find between ourselves and our feathered neighbors. Strycker, editor of Birding magazine and author (Among Penguins, 2011), here combines the latest in ornithological science with snippets of history and his own vast experience in the field to hatch a thoroughly entertaining examination of bird behavior. Some avian behaviors don't apply to humansthe almost magical homing abilities of pigeons, the incredible sense of smell of turkey vultures (as tested by the teenage author with the cooperation of a very dead deer and his extremely tolerant parents)but many seemingly incredible bird actions have parallels in our own lives. Fairy wrens are cooperative breeders and show us one reason humans so often collaborate. The famous pecking order seen in domestic chickens certainly is evident in office politics, and magpies have often been seen holding impromptu funerals for their deceased flock mates. A sulphur-crested cockatoo named Snowball dances in synchrony to his favorite Backstreet Boys CD, leading to a discussion of the role of music for both birds and humans. Birds are equally alien and familiar, and in Strycker's absorbing survey, we find out how much fun it is simply to watch them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)