What an Owl Knows

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Genius of Birds and What an Owl Knows, 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.<BR><BR>“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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.

'Großartig und faszinierend: eine neue Sicht auf die Vögel.' Sy Montgomery Neue wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse über unsere Vögel stellen vieles auf den Kopf, was wir von ihnen dachten. Wir wissen nun mehr darüber, wie sie leben, denken und agieren. Vögel können vieles, was wir vom Menschen kennen: Täuschung, Manipulation, Entführung etwa, aber auch kluge Kommunikation, Zusammenarbeit, Altruismus, Spiel. Manche Vögel machen Geschenke, manche stehlen, einige tanzen, trommeln oder malen gar. Gestützt auf eigene Beobachtungen und ornithologische Studien rund um den Globus erzählt Jennifer Ackerman von der unfassbaren Vielfalt des gefiederten Universums, in dem es stets neue Entdeckungen gibt ¿ und das in ungeahnter Weise durch die Klimakrise gefährdet ist.

Verblüffende Fakten über die Vögel der Nacht Neueste Erkenntnisse zu den außergewöhnlichen Eigenschaften und Verhaltensweisen der Eule: Vogelexpertin Jennifer Ackerman erzählt spannend und informativ von den symbolträchtigen Tieren.'Eine sehr ergiebige und höchst empfehlenswerte Lektüre.' Josef H. ReichholfIhre Fähigkeit, den Kopf auf den Rücken zu drehen, ihr forschender Blick, ihr lautloser Flug - Eulen ziehen uns Menschen seit alters derart in den Bann, dass sie als Symbol für Weisheit und Wissen gelten. Aber was weiß eine Eule wirklich?Die Vogelexpertin Jennifer Ackerman offenbart Erstaunliches: Eulen übermitteln mit ihren Rufen gezielt Informationen über sich selbst. Ihr Gehör ist so fein, dass sie ihre Beute, tief unter einer Schneedecke versteckt, allein aufgrund des Geräusches jagen können, manche Töne werden sogar im Sehzentrum des Gehirns verarbeitet, und ihr Beutezug folgt mathematischen Regeln. Eine lebhafte Naturkunde über einen mystischen Vogel, die voller Überraschungen steckt - faszinierend, fesselnd, informativ.  - Faszination Eule: bewundert und gefürchtet, verehrt und verfolgt- Mit neuesten wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen von Ornithologen aus Europa und der Welt- Mit zahlreichen beeindruckenden S/W-Fotos und farbigem Bildteil- Wochenlang auf der Bestsellerliste der ¿New York Times¿'Ein Muss für alle Vogelliebhaber.' The Guardian'Ackerman ist so begeistert von ihrem Thema, dass wahrscheinlich selbst Vogelmuffel von ihren Begegnungen mit Eulen und den engagierten Menschen, die sie studieren, fasziniert sein werden.' The New York Times'Das vielleicht beste populäre und mit Fakten gefüllte Wissensbuch über Eulen, das es gibt.' Denver Holt, Owl Research Institute

“Lovely, celebratory. For all the belittling of ‘bird brains,’ [Ackerman] shows them to be uniquely impressive machines . . .” —New York Times Book Review <BR><BR>“A lyrical testimony to the wonders of avian intelligence.” —Scientific American<BR><BR>An award-winning science writer tours the globe to reveal what makes birds capable of such extraordinary feats of mental prowess<BR><BR>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. <BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.

An instant New York Times bestseller!<BR><BR>A New York Times Notable Book of 2023<BR><BR>Named a Best Book of 2023 by Publishers Weekly<BR><BR>From the author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way, a brilliant scientific investigation into owls—the most elusive of birds—and why they exert such a hold on human imagination<BR><BR>With their forward gaze and quiet flight, owls are often a symbol of wisdom, knowledge, and foresight. But what does an owl really know? And what do we really know about owls? Some two hundred sixty species of owls exist today, and they reside on every continent except Antarctica, but they are far more difficult to find and study than other birds because they are cryptic, camouflaged, and mostly active at night. Though human fascination with owls goes back centuries, scientists have only recently begun to understand the complex nature of these extraordinary birds.<BR>  <BR> In What an Owl Knows, Jennifer Ackerman joins scientists in the field and explores how researchers are using modern technology and tools to learn how owls communicate, hunt, court, mate, raise their young, and move about from season to season. Ackerman brings this research alive with her own personal field observations; the result is an awe-inspiring exploration of owls across the globe and through human history, and a spellbinding account of the world’s most enigmatic group of birds.