Bird Brain: An exploration of avian intelligence
Published on 4. August 2016
Book
Hardback
192 pages
978-1-78240-314-2 (ISBN)
Description
An absorbing study of how birds think, revealing how science is exploding the myth of our feathered friends being ' bird brained' , and how recent discoveries may call for us to re-evaluate how we identify and classify intelligence in other animals.
Bird Brain will start by looking at the structures and functions of the avian brain, and move on to examine different types of intelligence by profiling the extraordinary behaviours of a broad range of the species, studying the masterminds of the avian world, and examining what types of behaviour can be interpreted as ' intelligence' as we would recognize it. Bird Brain will not only look at the well-studied species such as New Caledonian crows and parrots, but also cast a broader eye over the behaviour of a wide range of species from around the world.
Bird Brain will start by looking at the structures and functions of the avian brain, and move on to examine different types of intelligence by profiling the extraordinary behaviours of a broad range of the species, studying the masterminds of the avian world, and examining what types of behaviour can be interpreted as ' intelligence' as we would recognize it. Bird Brain will not only look at the well-studied species such as New Caledonian crows and parrots, but also cast a broader eye over the behaviour of a wide range of species from around the world.
Reviews / Votes
"In this sparkling, superbly illustrated summation of the cognitive science, ethology and hot debates, Emery encapsulates the 'featured ape'." * Nature * "Emery has brought this research together in a hugely accessible popular science book, while still maintaining the level of critical thought and intellectual novelty that one would expect from one of the leading researchers in the field." * Current Biology * "Chapters on spatial memory, communication, cultural intelligence, tool use and the sense of self provide a great introduction to the subject in an accessible and engaging manner." * BBC Wildlife * "An in-depth look at recent research and fascinating lab experiments, the book published by Ivy Press overturns any notion that birds are somehow dumb. Instead, it argues with an overwhelming amount of evidence that a number of bird species should be considered more as "feathered apes"". -- Jeremy Hance * The Guardian *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Quarto Publishing PLC
Dimensions
Height: 253 mm
Width: 203 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-78240-314-2 (9781782403142)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Dr Nathan Emery (Cambridge, UK), is Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Biology at Queen Mary University of London. His research interests have focused on the cognitive abilities of corvids, apes and parrots, and he is currently working with the ravens at the Tower of London. He has authored two previous books and is on the editorial boards of Animal Cognition and the Journal of Comparative Psychology. His work has been extensively reported internationally.