The Bird Way

March 15, 2020
The author of The Genius of Birds returns with an exploration of "surprising and sometimes alarming behavior" of everyday avian activity. Science journalist Ackerman showcases various aspects of typical bird activity--communicating, working, playing, parenting--that have been "dismissed as anomalies or set aside as abiding mysteries." In reexamining these behaviors, scientists have been able to identify "remarkable strategies and intelligence underlying these activities, abilities we once considered uniquely our own," including deception, kidnapping, infanticide, cooperation, collaboration, altruism, and culture. Extreme behavior reveals insights and new perspectives on birds' adaptation abilities and flexibility of mind. Ackerman is a smooth writer; her presentation of ideas is deft, and her anecdotes are consistently engaging. She demonstrates that birds' novel or seemingly eccentric behaviors are often clever strategies rooted in evolutionary wisdom as well as complex cognition in different contexts, such as decision-making, finding patterns, and planning for the future. It is becoming increasingly evident that bird vocalization postures express emotions, convey intent, and signal a range of social purposes--e.g., sharing information, negotiating boundaries, influencing behavior. And some bird species "are not just memorizing complex signals but rather applying a generalized grammatical ordering rule to decode messages." Ackerman demonstrates bird science as an evolving discipline that is consistently fascinating, and she offers brilliant discussions of the use of smell, long overlooked but indeed deployed for navigation; courtship signals; predator avoidance, and, not surprisingly, locating food. There is a captivating section on birds working in concert with ants in foraging as well as an examination of the mean tricks of parasitic chicks and particularly aggressive species. Cowbirds, for example, often show "mafia-like tactics," and they are "so good [at what they do] that they appear to be contributing to the demise of dozens of already troubled North American songbird species on the brink of extinction from habitat degradation." A brightly original book sure to please any nature lover.

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Starred review from April 1, 2020

Ackerman (The Genius of Birds) contends that recent research on how birds communicate, work, play, parent, and think reveals that the creatures are remarkably intelligent. The complex behavior of birds recounted here, including the greater ani, the kea parrot, and the brush turkey, demonstrates that birds have sophisticated mental abilities previously unrecognized by conventional avian research. Ackerman supports her thesis with descriptions of the behavior of an entertaining variety of birds from across the world. She brings scientific research alive with personal field observations and accounts of her encounters with colorful and fascinating birds. Throughout, Ackerman reminds readers that birds are thinking beings--their brains are wired differently than those of mammals, giving them increased brain power despite their small size. She further makes the case that bird intelligence shows that humankind is not alone in using language and tools or constructing complex structures and manipulating other creatures. VERDICT This work will engage all readers interested in learning more about birds and natural history.--Mark Jones, Mercantile Lib., Cincinnati

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Starred review from April 15, 2020
The first line of this introduction to the fascinating world of bird cognition?"There is the mammal way and there is the bird way."?sums up the science of studying the avian brain and mind. As we have learned (and are still learning) with mammals, bird behaviors once thought bizarre or merely instinctive are proving to reveal not only intelligence but also abilities that we once thought were uniquely human. Ackerman (The Genius of Birds, 2016) explores five aspects of the daily lives of birds as she describes striking examples of each behavior. Her research shows how some avian actions indicate ingenious adaptations. Take communication: the familiar songs and calls of birds are highly complex, but so are enacted displays and even individual coloring. Finding food can initiate behaviors such as tool building: birds modifying sticks which they then use to pry insects out of holes. The ways birds play have been extensively studied in ravens and parrots, both known to be highly intelligent. And finally, breeding and the rearing of avian young involve amazingly diverse variations. There is clearly no one single "bird way of being," and Ackerman's vibrant writing ensures that all things bird are thoroughly compelling and enjoyable.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)