Description
From theNew York Timesbestselling author ofThe Genius of Birds, a radical investigation into the bird way of being, and the recent scientific research that it dramatically shifting our understanding of birds — how they live and how they think.
From theNew York Timesbestselling author ofThe Genius of Birds, a radical investigation into the bird way of being, and the recent scientific research that is dramatically shifting our understanding of birds — how they live and how they think.
There is the mammal way and there is the bird way. But the bird way is much more than a unique pattern of brain wiring, and lately, scientists have taken a new look at bird behaviors they have, for years, dismissed as anomalies or mysteriesWhat they are finding is upending the traditional view of how birds conduct their lives, how they communicate, forage, court, breed, survive. They are also revealing the remarkable intelligence underlying these activities, abilities we once considered uniquely our own: deception, manipulation, cheating, kidnapping, infanticide, but also ingenious communication between species, cooperation, collaboration, altruism, culture, and play.
Some of these extraordinary behaviors are biological conundrums that seem to push the edges of, well, birdness: a mother bird that kills her own infant sons, and another that selflessly tends to the young of other birds as if they were her own; a bird thatcollaborates in an extraordinary way with one speciesoursbut parasitizes another in gruesome fashion; birds that give gifts and birds that steal; birds that dance or drum, that paint their creations or paint themselves; birds that build walls of sound to keep out intruders and birds that summon playmates with a special calland may hold the secret to our own penchant for playfulness and the evolution of laughter.
Drawing on personal observations, the latest science, and her bird-related travel around the world, from the tropical rainforests of eastern Australia and the remote woodlands of northern Japan, to the rolling hills of lower Austria and the islands of Alaskas Kachemak Bay, Jennifer Ackerman shows there is clearly no single bird way of being. In every respect, in plumage, form, song, flight, lifestyle, niche, and behavior, birds vary. It is what we love about them. As E.O Wilson once said, when you have seen one bird, you have not seen them all.
From tales of dazzling plumage to anecdotes about almost unfathomable mimicry, Jennifer AckermansThe Bird Wayis a walk through the mysteries, wonders, and peculiarities of the avian world . . .Ackermans excitement and love for it are evident in her writing. Her superb storytelling paints a rich picture that engages the readers imagination, making sometimes-hard-to-grasp research accessible.Science Magazine
[Ackermans]exhilarating book will leave you as awestruck by the complexities and contradictions of bird life as she is.San Francisco Chronicle
“After reading Ackerman (‘The Genius of Birds’), you may listen harder to the various chirps, cheeps and coos coming from your backyard. Her new book reminds us that we have a lot in common with birdslike us, they are capable of deception and manipulation, not to mention cooperation, culture and communication.” The Washington Post
InThe Bird Way, Jennifer Ackerman digs deeper and ranges farther into bird behavior, pulling tasty stories out of rich ground as she hops across the continents [ . . . ] Like a bowerbird, Ms. Ackerman gathers and displays treasures to amaze and delightthen lets the scientists stories take center stage [. . .] Refreshingly, Ackerman spotlights a number of female researchers.Wall Street Journal
[S]plendid and spellbinding . . .The Bird Wayshows us a new way to view birds, yesbut perhaps even better, through their eyes, intellect, and more-than-human senses, it lets birds reveal to us the hidden realities of our shared world.Sy Montgomery,American Scholar
Ackerman brings scientific research alive with personal observations of colorful and fascinating birds, from the kea parrot to the raven to the brush turkey, among others. By showing how each species communicates, plays, parents, works, and thinks, she reminds us that there is no one way to be a bird.Science Friday
“Ackerman packs her book with insightful observations, interesting factoids, and deep dives into new research about birds as varied as seagulls, emus, vultures, and robins.”Undark
Ackerman’s vibrant writing ensures that all things bird are thoroughly compelling and enjoyable.Booklist,starred review
Ackerman reminds readers that birds are thinking beings . . .She brings scientific research alive with personal field observations and accounts of her encounters with colorful and fascinating birds . . . [The Bird Way] will engage all readers interested in learning more about birds and natural history.Library Journal, starred review
“A brightly original book . . . Ackerman is a smooth writer; her presentation of ideas is deft, and her anecdotes are consistently engaging . . . [She] 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.Kirkus Reviews, starred review
JENNIFER ACKERMAN has been writing about science, nature, and human biology for almost three decades. Her most recent books includeSex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body; Ah-Choo: The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold; Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity;andNotes from the Shore. A contributor toScientific American, National Geographic, The New York Times, and many other publications, Ackerman is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship in Nonfiction, a Bunting Fellowship, and a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Penguin Books
Pub Date: May 04, 2021
0.8″ H x 8.4″ L x 5.5″ W
368 pages
paperback
