Sign-In
Cart
Living as a Bird
Hardcover
ISBN13: 9781509547265
Publisher: Polity Press
Published: Nov 22 2021
Pages: 180
Weight: 1.10
Height: 1.10 Width: 5.90 Depth: 9.10
Language: English
In the first days of spring, birds undergo a spectacular metamorphosis. After a long winter of migration and peaceful co-existence, they suddenly begin to sing with all their might, varying each series of notes as if it were an audiophonic novel. They can't bear the presence of other birds and begin to threaten and attack them if they cross a border, which might be invisible to human eyes but seems perfectly tangible to birds.
Naturalists and ornithologists have put forward competing theories to try to explain this remarkable transformation. Is this display of bird aggression just a pretence, a game that all birds play? Or do birds suddenly become territorial - and if so, why? When ornithologists realized that the borders of bird territories were contiguous, they were stunned: it seemed that territory building is a way that birds continue to live together by organizing themselves differently. By observing the use of territory among a wide range of species, scientists began to think that birds were creating their own neighborhoods, within which they sing together and even, on occasion, form alliances to attract females.
By attending carefully to the ways that birds construct their worlds and ornithologists have tried to understand them, Despret sheds fresh light on the activities of both, and at the same time enables us to become more aware of the multiple worlds and modes of existence that characterize the planet we share in common with birds and other species.
1 different editions
Also available
Also in
Birdwatching
National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Familiar Birds: Eastern Region: Eastern
National Audubon Society
Paperback
The Mindful Birder's Journal: Record Your Observations of the Winged World
Paluso III, Keith
Hardcover
North American Bird Watching for Beginners: Field Notes on 150 Species to Start Your Birding Adventures
Stiteler, Sharon
Paperback
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada, 8th Edition
Floyd, Ted
Paperback
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern & Central North America, Seventh Ed.
Peterson, Roger Tory
Paperback
What It's Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing--What Birds Are Doing, and Why
Sibley, David Allen
Hardcover
A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird
Mosco, Rosemary
Paperback
The Backyard Birdsong Guide Eastern and Central North America: A Guide to Listening
Kroodsma, Donald
Hardcover
The Backyard Bird Journal: Pages for Writing, Sketching, and Living Deeply in Nature
Tan, Amy
Hardcover
Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans
Angell, Tony
Marzluff, John
Paperback
What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World's Most Familiar Bird
Montgomery, Sy
Hardcover
Bird Watchers' Field Guide Sticker & Logbook: Identify 75 North American Birds
Editors of Chartwell Books
Paperback
National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Birds of North America, 2nd Edition
Alderfer, Jonathan
Paperback
Sibley Birding Sticker Book: With More Than 300 Stickers: Stickers for Journals, Water Bottles, Laptops, Planners, and More
Sibley, David Allen
Hardcover
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canadaâ "West, 2nd Edition
Floyd, Ted
Paperback
A Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Trees: Eastern United States and Canada, Including the Midwest
Wehr, Janet
Petrides, George A.
Paperback
Pacific Coast Bird Finder: Identifying Common Birds Along the Pacific Coast
Lederer, Roger J.
Paperback
Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi Second Edition
Stevenson, Terry
Fanshawe, John
Paperback
The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think
Ackerman, Jennifer
Paperback
Birds of Wyoming Field Guide: Includes Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks
Tekiela, Stan
Paperback
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canadaâ "East, 2nd Edition
Floyd, Ted
Paperback
Kaufman Field Guide to Nature of the Midwest
Sayre, Jeffrey P.
Kaufman, Kimberly
Kaufman, Kenn
Paperback
East Africa Birds: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Species in Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda
Kavanagh, James
Paperback
Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Backyard
Strassmann, Joan E.
Hardcover
Birds: A Fully Illustrated, Authoritative and Easy-To-Use Guide
Gabrielson, Ira N.
Zim, Herbert S.
Paperback
Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands: Fully Revised and Updated Third Edition
López, Sergio A. Colón
Raffaele, Herbert A.
Petrovic, Clive
Paperback
Birds of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Guide
Aversa, Tom
Cannings, Richard
Opperman, Hal
Paperback
Birds of Maryland & Delaware Field Guide: Includes Washington, D.C., & the Chesapeake Bay
Tekiela, Stan
Paperback
How to Look at a Bird: Open Your Eyes to the Joy of Watching and Knowing Birds
Leslie, Clare Walker
Paperback
Hansen's Field Guide to the Birds of the Sierra Nevada
Donkin, Adam
Hansen, Keith
Beedy, Edward C.
Paperback
Birding for Boomers: And Everyone Else Brave Enough to Embrace the World's Most Rewarding and Frustrating Activity
Collard III, Sneed B.
Paperback
Bird Nest Finder: Identifying Aboveground Bird Nests in Eastern North America
Miller, Dorcas S.
Paperback
A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey
Meiburg, Jonathan
Paperback