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From the New York Times bestselling author of The 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 mysteries -- What 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
that collaborates in an extraordinary way with one species-ours-but
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
call-and 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 Alaska's 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.
"Lovely, celebratory. For all the belittling of 'bird brains,'
[Ackerman] shows them to be uniquely impressive machines . . ."
-New York Times Book Review "A lyrical testimony to the wonders of
avian intelligence." -Scientific American An award-winning science
writer tours the globe to reveal what makes birds capable of such
extraordinary feats of mental prowess Birds are astonishingly
intelligent creatures. According to revolutionary new research,
some birds rival primates and even humans in their remarkable forms
of intelligence. In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author Jennifer
Ackerman explores their newly discovered brilliance and how it came
about. As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge
frontiers of research, Ackerman not only tells the story of the
recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the
latest findings about the bird brain itself that are shifting our
view of what it means to be intelligent. At once personal yet
scientific, richly informative and beautifully written, The Genius
of Birds celebrates the triumphs of these surprising and fiercely
intelligent creatures. Ackerman is also the author of Birds by the
Shore: Observing the Natural Life of the Atlantic Coast.
Birds are astonishingly intelligent creatures. In fact, according
to revolutionary new research, some birds rival primates and even
humans in their remarkable forms of intelligence. Like humans, many
birds have enormous brains relative to their size. Although small,
bird brains are packed with neurons that allow them to punch well
above their weight. In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author
Jennifer Ackerman explores the newly discovered brilliance of birds
and how it came about. As she travels around the world to the most
cutting-edge frontiers of research - the distant laboratories of
Barbados and New Caledonia, the great tit communities of the United
Kingdom and the bowerbird habitats of Australia, the ravaged
mid-Atlantic coast after Hurricane Sandy and the warming mountains
of central Virginia and the western states - Ackerman not only
tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also
delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself
that are revolutionizing our view of what it means to be
intelligent. Consider, as Ackerman does, the Clark's nutcracker, a
bird that can hide as many as 30,000 seeds over dozens of square
miles and remember where it put them several months later; the
mockingbirds and thrashers, species that can store 200 to 2,000
different songs in a brain a thousand times smaller than ours; the
well-known pigeon, which knows where it's going, even thousands of
miles from familiar territory; and the New Caledonian crow, an
impressive bird that makes its own tools. But beyond highlighting
how birds use their unique genius in technical ways, Ackerman
points out the impressive social smarts of birds. They deceive and
manipulate. They eavesdrop. They display a strong sense of
fairness. They give gifts. They play keep-away and tug-of-war. They
tease. They share. They cultivate social networks. They vie for
status. They kiss to console one another. They teach their young.
They blackmail their parents. They alert one another to danger.
They summon witnesses to the death of a peer. They may even grieve.
This elegant scientific investigation and travelogue weaves
personal anecdotes with fascinating science. Ackerman delivers an
extraordinary story that will both give readers a new appreciation
for the exceptional talents of birds and let them discover what
birds can reveal about our changing world.
From the bestselling author of The Genius of Birds, the revised and
reissued edition of her beloved book of essays describing her
forays along the Delaware shore For three years, Jennifer Ackerman
lived in the small coastal town of Lewes, Delaware, in the sort of
blue-water, white-sand landscape that draws summer crowds up and
down the eastern seaboard. Birds by the Shore is a book about
discovering the natural life at the ocean's edge: the habits of
shorebirds and seabirds, the movement of sand and water, the wealth
of creatures that survive amid storm and surf. Against this
landscape's rhythms, Ackerman revisits her own history--her
mother's death, her father's illness and her hopes to have children
of her own. This portrait of life at the ocean's edge will be
relished by anyone who has walked a beach at sunset, or watched a
hawk hover over a winter marsh, and felt part of the natural world.
With a quiet passion and friendly, generous intelligence, it
explores the way that landscape shapes our thoughts and perceptions
and shows that home ground is often where we feel the deepest
response to the planet.
Some colds are like mice, timid and annoying; others like dragons,
accompanied by body aches and deep misery. In AH-CHOO , Jennifer
Ackerman explains what, exactly, a cold is, how it works, and
whether it's really possible to "fight one off." Scientists call
this the Golden Age of the Common Cold because Americans suffer up
to a billion colds each year, resulting in 40 million days of
missed work and school and 100 million doctor visits. They've also
learned over the past decade much more about what cold viruses are,
what they do to the human body, and how symptoms can be addressed.
In this ode to the odious cold, Ackerman sifts through the chatter
about treatments-what works, what doesn't, and what can't hurt. She
dispels myths, such as susceptibility to colds reflects a weakened
immune system. And she tracks current research, including work at
the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, a world-renowned
center of cold research studies, where the search for a cure
continues.
Did you know that you can tell time in your sleep? That women have
more nightmares than men? Or that up to half of the calories you
consume can be burned off simply by fidgeting? In Sex, Sleep, Eat,
Drink, Dream, acclaimed science writer Jennifer Ackerman takes us
on an astonishing and illuminating tour of the human body during a
typical day, from waking in the morning to the reverie of sleep and
dreams.
Most of us are familiar with the concept of circadian rhythms, the
idea that the human body maintains its own internal clock. Recent
scientific advances reveal the importance of synchronizing our
actions with our biological rhythms -- and show how defying them
can cause us real harm. With Ackerman as our guide we learn the
best time of day to take a nap, give a presentation, take
medication, and even drink a cocktail, along with a host of other
useful and curious facts. Entertaining and deeply practical, this
book will make readers think of their bodies in an entirely new
way.
Award-winning science writer Jennifer Ackerman investigates the endless mysteries of genetics, offering an elegant natural history of humanity as seen through the lens of our genes and cells. Combining the gifts of vision and language with in-depth knowledge, Ackerman explores the ways in which, at the most fundamental level, humans are genetically linked to every part of the natural world. CHANCE IN THE HOUSE OF FATE is a rich and often personal tour through the surprising turns of heredity, informed by the ways genetic inheritance has affected Ackerman's own life. From a younger sister's profound retardation and her mother's illness to the births of her own healthy daughters, Ackerman reveals her own experiences as telling touchpoints, ultimately illuminating the the hidden biological connections among all forms of life.
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