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Full Description
In her comprehensive and carefully crafted book, Gisela Kaplan demonstrates how intelligent and emotional Australian birds can be. She describes complex behaviours such as grieving, deception, problem solving and the use of tools. Many Australian birds cooperate and defend each other, and exceptional ones go fishing by throwing breadcrumbs in the water, extract poisonous parts from prey and use tools to crack open eggshells and mussels. Kaplan brings together evidence of many such cognitive abilities, suggesting plausible reasons for their appearance in Australian birds.
Bird Minds is the first attempt to shine a critical and scientific light on the cognitive behaviour of Australian land birds. In this fascinating volume, the author also presents recent changes in our understanding of the avian brain and links these to life histories and longevity.
Following on from Kaplan's well-received books on the Australian Magpie and the Tawny Frogmouth, as well as two earlier titles on birds, Bird Minds contends that the unique and often difficult conditions of Australia's environment have been crucial for the evolution of unusual complexities in avian cognition and behaviour.
Contents
Contents
Preface
1 Australian conditions and their consequences
2 Brain size, long life and resourcefulness
3 Foragers, food-switchers and innovators
4 Tool use
5 Nest and bower builders
6 Play behaviour
7 Mimicry and imitation - the cognitive dimensions
8 Social and vocal learning
9 Emotions, communication and cognition
10 Communicating intentionally
11 Abstract concepts and states of mind
12 Which native birds are smart?
Epilogue
Glossary
References
Appendices
Index
