can lift their lids to steal milk, wild turkeys can pretend to be a home turkey in front of hunters, and then go far and pull their legs and run – did you know that birds are such intelligent animals?
In Darwin's eyes, the aesthetic evolutionary theory of mate selection is an "engine" of human evolution, and the evolution of bird beauty is an important part of it.
Yes, the world of birds is far more complex and interesting than we know and can imagine. In addition to walking into nature and getting close to them, we can also delve into the world of birds through reading. From bird watching guides to bird habits, from the intellectual wonders of birds to the mysteries of the senses, from theoretical evolutionary discussions to pleasing and beautiful albums, here are a few books that will satisfy your curiosity about birds.
A picture of bird behavior
[English] Dominique Kazens; He Xin, Cheng Yixin/Translation; Hunan Science and Technology Press; 2019-12
This is a bird observation book starting from the behavior and habits of birds, as well as a visual feast of bird behavior, and an advanced treasure book for bird watching enthusiasts.
Based on professional ornithological knowledge and rich experience in field bird observation, Dominique Kazens shows readers the behavior of nearly 500 species of birds in different situations from an interesting perspective, focusing on identifying birds through behavior. In addition, five of Britain's best animal hand painters have illustrated the book, showing the real form and behavior of these birds in their natural environment, and restoring the real bird watching scene.
This book jumps out of the classification of bird species in traditional bird atlases, starting from actual bird watching experience, dividing them according to large categories, and distinguishing different bird species by size, shape, habitat and behavior. The opening chapter of each large class begins with an overview of the habitat and distribution of this category of birds, followed by a depiction of different aspects of bird behavior so that the reader can make a direct comparison of the easily confused species. Although the book is primarily about the Eastern Europe and the European part of Russia, this mode of observation and categorization is worth learning. The author's descriptions are easy to understand, such as "the little partridge's ass looks like a floating rabbit", "Dai Sheng flies like an unstable moth", "the white wagtail is a miniature version of the chicken", which adds a lot of reading interest.
The talent of birds
Jennifer Ackerman; Shen Hanzhong, Li Siqi; Yilin Publishing House; 2019-4-30
Humans and birds have gone different branches in their evolutionary paths, and we are accustomed to measuring intelligence by our own scales, thus grossly underestimating the potential of other species. "The Talent of Birds" uses a journey to find the strongest bird brain, subverting human cognition of birds. This book shows the intellectual wonders of birds from the aspects of tool making, communication, singing, aesthetics, sense of space and time, and environmental adaptability, so that we can re-understand these familiar and unfamiliar elves around us. Jennifer Ackerman's easy and elegant documentation of her own bird surveys around the world and the introduction of recent research in ornithology have kept the book in a good balance between fun and knowledge. For example, this book will show you that some birds can stay awake for long periods of time, such as the spot-breasted sandpiper, which can be active non-stop during the arctic summer day and not sleep for several weeks. Parrots even teach other parrots to swear dirty words they have learned from humans. Scientific American commented that the book provides a poetic testimony to the intellectual wonders of birds. Remember, we often forget where the keys are, but the crow can remember 5,000 places where food is stored.
The Evolution of Beauty—The Forgotten Darwinian Theory of Spouse Choice—how it shaped the animal world and us
[Beauty] Richard M. O. Prum; Ren Ye/Translation; CITIC Publishing House; 2019-1
How does observing birds help us understand evolution? Often, it is thought that Darwin's theory of natural selection could explain every branch of the tree of life: which species would reproduce, which would go extinct, which species would evolve which traits... However, Darwin said, "Whenever I see the tail screen of a male peacock, I feel uncomfortable!" This is because in his theory of natural selection, the overly ornate pattern on the male peacock tail screen seems to have no survival value. In this regard, the traditional scientific view is that the mate selection and display characteristics of animals are "advertisements" that show their genetic advantages or quality advantages.
But with more than 30 years of fieldwork and wild bird-looking experience around the world, Prum challenged that view. Deep in the tropical jungle are diverse, beautiful and elegant birds: male plum-winged petite birds sing with their wings; male big-eyed pheasant wing feathers are spread out into a 4-foot-wide cone dotted with three-dimensional golden-brown spherical patterns, dazzling; male red-crowned petite harriers use space dance steps to court... The authors see many of the animal's ostentatious features, and none of these traits seem to have much to do with the theory of natural selection. In the search for the real answer, Prum excavated Darwin's aesthetic evolutionary theory of spouse choice 150 years ago from the pile of old papers, which was an independent engine that drove the evolutionary process.
The beginning of this evolutionary journey of beauty is the "Tree of Life" and the end of our re-understanding of human evolution and ourselves. The splendor of nature fills a gap in our understanding of evolutionary history and human origins, providing us with a unique scientific perspective on Darwin's theory of evolution in a comprehensive and objective way.
A bird flew out of the window
Simon Barnes; Liao Xiaodong/Translation; Nova Press; 2018-5-31
The Times' chief sports correspondent, Simon Barnes, is a veteran birdwatcher and columnist for the weekend edition of Ecology and Wildlife. In this book, Barnes leads the reader out the door, observes the birds on the street, at the water's edge, and in the woods, and relaxes the tense mood of work and responsibility. Bird watching will make you deeply aware of the rhythms of nature and understand the preciousness of the diversity of life; sharing the joy of bird watching with relatives and friends, you will regain your enthusiasm for life; bird watching is a way to know and understand the world, and the happiness it brings is constant.
The book contains 18 natural essays about birds, he traces the adjacent interaction between humans and birds in the long process of evolution since ancient times; he looks back at every love affair with birds in his life - the friends he made with birds, the love harvested by the family affection... Because of the reverence and understanding of life and nature acquired by birds, the book also touches on many serious and profound theoretical issues; the significance, patterns and directions of biological evolution, the significance of taxonomic systems, the difference between endangered bird species and specialized birds, the difference between ornithological research and amateur bird watching, the relative relationship between scientific progress and unknown fields of human beings, the nature of bird protection organizations, the current situation and prospects of environmental protection, etc., the exposition is incisive and thought-provoking.
Bird senses
Tim Burkhead; Shen Cheng/Translation; The Commercial Press; 2017-1
As bipeds who always live on the ground, humans have wondered for a long time what it would be like to be a bird. Tim Burkhead is Professor of Animal Behavior and History of Science at the University of Sheffield, UK, and a Fellow of the Royal Society. One of his research assignments is to travel around the world to learn about bird life. In this book, he takes you on an exploration of the various senses of birds. How do owls fly at night? How do flamingos feel the torrential rain thousands of miles away? Partridges migrate continuously for tens of thousands of kilometers, swifts rest in flight, kiwi birds smell earthworms in the dirt... Drawing on decades of research in bird behavior, physiology, and anatomy, this book takes us deep into the sensory world of birds and explores the mysteries of these flying (or non-flying) elves.
Bird of Paradise
[F] François Levayan / John Gould / [English] Alfred Wallace; Xiaohua Tong, Lian Guanyi/Translation; Peking University Press; 2017-1
In the 16th century, globetrotters discovered the bird of paradise (bird of paradise) in the tropical jungles of New Guinea during their voyages, and its beautiful fur made people admire it as a bird from paradise, hence the name. Darwin and many other naturalists have called it "the most beautiful and interesting bird in the world", and its specimens became the most popular export "material" of New Guinea in the 19th century. Birds of Paradise selects the paintings of birds of paradise by French naturalists François Le Wajan, British naturalists John Gould and Alfred Wallace, these exquisite paintings accurately and vividly show the basic morphological characteristics of birds of paradise, habitat and the feeding habits of some species, and have long been the works of ornithologists, bird lovers and artists.