How Birds Behave

We discover how birds find food, relying on foraging techniques, tools and thievery. We learn about the courtship rituals through which birds choose, compete for, woo and win mates; the familial conflicts that crop up among parents, offspring and siblings; and the stresses and strains of nesting, including territory defence, nepotism and relationship sabotage. We see how birds respond to threats and danger – through such unique practices as murmurations, specific alarm calls, distraction displays and antipredator nest design. We also read about how birds change certain behaviours – preening, migration, breeding and huddling – based on climate. Richly illustrated, this book explores the increasing focus on how individual birds differ in personality and how big data and citizen scientists are helping to add to what we know about them.

Drawing on classic examples and the latest research, How Birds Behave offers a close-up look at the many ways birds conduct themselves in the wild.

224 pages.

Adult non-fiction, science/animals.

23cm x 16.5cm.

Published by CSIRO Publishing.

Written by Wentei Tong.

Wenfei Tong is a biologist, conservationist and nature guide. She is a Research Associate at the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, and the owner of Big Sky Safaris. She is the author of Bird Love: The Family Life of Birds (Princeton University Press).