Free shipping on orders over $99
The Genius of Birds

The Genius of Birds 1

by Jennifer Ackerman
Paperback
Publication Date: 16/05/2016
5/5 Rating 1 Review

Share This Book:

RRP  $35.00

RRP means 'Recommended Retail Price' and is the price our supplier recommends to retailers that the product be offered for sale. It does not necessarily mean the product has been offered or sold at the RRP by us or anyone else.

$33.25

For decades, people have written off birds as largely witless, driven by instinct and capable of only the simplest mental processes. But this just isn't true.

In The Genius of Birds, popular science writer Jennifer Ackerman presents the latest research on bird intelligence and reveals that birds are much, much smarter than we ever supposed. Bird brains, it turns out, are mostly made of sophisticated information processing systems that work in much the same way as our own cerebral cortices. Whether it's making complex navigations, singing in regional accents, or joking around with humans, birds are capable of high-level abstract thinking, problem-solving, remembering, learning by example, recognising faces, and even conversing in a meaningful way — all with brains so tiny each would fit inside a walnut.

In this entertaining book, Ackerman explores the view of birds as 'thinkers', capable of being cunning, playful, witty, greedy, cranky, joyful, and competitive. Bringing together the latest science from lab and field, she reveals the intelligent bird behaviour that we can see in our own backyards, at birdfeeders, in parks, in city streets, and in country skies, if only we care to look. And in doing so, she reveals what a bird's intelligence may have to say about our own.

Lyrical and informative, The Genius of Birds is written in the spirit of Peter Matthiessen — and is packed with fascinating science that will appeal to bird lovers, nature enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the brain and animal behaviour.

This book features in our Best Books of 2016 (so far)

ISBN:
9781925106879
9781925106879
Category:
Birds (ornithology)
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
16-05-2016
Publisher:
Scribe Publications
Country of origin:
Australia
Edition:
1st Edition
Pages:
352
Dimensions (mm):
233x154x26mm
Weight:
0.46kg
Jennifer Ackerman

Jennifer Ackerman has been writing about science, nature, and human biology for almost three decades.

Her most recent book is The Genius of Birds (Penguin Press, April 2016). Previous books include Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body (Houghton Mifflin); Ah-Choo: The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold (Twelve); Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity (Houghton Mifflin); and Notes from the Shore (Viking Penguin).

A contributor to Scientific American, National Geographic, The New York Times, and many other publications, Jennifer is the recipient of an National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship in Nonfiction, a Bunting Fellowship, and a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

This title is in stock with our Australian supplier and should arrive at our Sydney warehouse within 1-2 weeks of you placing an order.

Once received into our warehouse we will despatch it to you with a Shipping Notification which includes online tracking.

Please check the estimated delivery times below for your region, for after your order is despatched from our warehouse:

ACT Metro 2 working days

NSW Metro 2 working days 

NSW Rural 2-3 working days

NSW Remote 2-5 working days

NT Metro 3-6 working days

NT Remote 4-10 working days

QLD Metro 2-4 working days

QLD Rural 2-5 working days

QLD Remote 2-7 working days

SA Metro 2-5 working days

SA Rural 3-6 working days

SA Remote 3-7 working days

TAS Metro 3-6 working days

TAS Rural 3-6 working days

VIC Metro 2-3 working days

VIC Rural 2-4 working days

VIC Remote 2-5 working days

WA Metro 3-6 working days

WA Rural 4-8 working days

WA Remote 4-12 working days

Reviews

5.0

Based on 1 review

5 Star
(1)
4 Star
(0)
3 Star
(0)
2 Star
(0)
1 Star
(0)

1 Review

This book will absolutely delight you and change your perspective on birds.

The writing, clear and witty, presents ground-breaking research in a way that doesn't exaggerate the meaning of results but rather encourages the reader to engage and ask questions of their own. This book lets birds, from city pigeons to emperor penguins, stand out and sing in their own right rather taking the easy route of glorifying them in an anthropomorphic kind of way.

Easily the best science writing I've read this year and one of the best cover designs too. A book to watch out for.

Contains Spoilers No
Report Abuse