|
The Minds of Birds by Alexander F. Skutch |
" . . . a marvelous anthology of classic bird stories . . . "—New York Times Book Review
Named one of the best nonfiction books of 1996 by the New York Times Book Review, Alexander Skutch's The Minds of Birds is a reasoned, radical, and loving look at the evidence for birds' ability to think and feel.
Skutch, author of numerous award-winning books, moved to the Costa Rican rainforest more than sixty years ago and spent those decades in close observation of the abundant wildlife and in careful study of the literature on avian ethology. Though lacking hard scientific proof, he persuasively infers the nature of birds' psychic lives from their behavior.
Although birds vary widely by species, many of them have a striking ability to recognize as individuals not only other birds of their own kind (which all look alike to humans), but also familiar humans, even after a long absence. They have good memories and give indications of forethought. They can be taught to count up to eight, and some are known to use tools. The nests of bower birds and the songs of many other species also point strongly to an aesthetic sense. The journeys of migrants between breeding and wintering territories thousands of miles apart speak of memory and navigational skills that baffle human observers.
Skutch acknowledges that inferential evidence only suggests hypotheses and cannot offer scientific proof. Nonetheless, his carefully gathered and documented observations accord with the intuition of many bird lovers that birds are not unfeeling automata but sensitive creatures, aware of what they do.
The late ALEXANDER F. SKUTCH earned bachelor's and doctoral degrees at Johns Hopkins University in 1925 and 1928, respectively. His many honors include the William Brewster Medal from the American Ornithologists' Union, the Aquileo J. Echeverría Award from the Costa Rican government, the John Burroughs Medal, and the Hal Borland Award from Audubon Magazine. The documentary film A Naturalist in the Rainforest has received numerous honors, including an Earthwatch Film Award.
Number Twenty-three: Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series
The Minds of Birds
ISBN 0-89096-671-0
$29.95
LC 95-4645. 6x9. 200 pp. 42 line drawings. Bib. Index.
Natural History. Ornithology.
Publication Date: August 1997.
Terms of order and other ways to order