The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think
“There is the mammal way and there is the bird way.” This is one scientist’s pithy distinction between mammal brains and bird brains: two ways to make a highly intelligent mind. 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’re 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.
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. Young birds that devote themselves to feeding their siblings and others so competitive they’ll stab their nestmates to death. 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.
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, 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’s what we love about them. As E.O Wilson once said, when you have seen one bird, you have not seen them all.
Awards & accolades
Winner of the 2021 Whitley Book of the Royal Society of Zoology of New South Wales for the Best Book in Behavioural Zoology
Finalist for 2021 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Award
Selected as “A Best Science Book of 2020” by NPR’s Science Friday
“A Nature Book of the Year” by the London Sunday Times
“Editor’s Selection” by the The New York Times
Washington Post pick for Top Ten Books of May
Barnes & Noble pick for “Best Nature & Wildlife Books of 2020"
Semi-finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards (in Science/Tech).
Reviews
“Ackerman brings scientific research alive with personal observations of colorful and fascinating birds, from the kea parrot to the raven to the brush turkey, among others. By showing how each species communicates, plays, parents, works, and thinks, she reminds us that there is no one way to be a bird.”
— NPR’s “SCIENCE FRIDAY”, “The Best Summer Science Books of 2020”
“An enthralling study of the avian world.”
“A revelatory book about the avian world… This book is a celebration of the dizzying variety of bird life and behavior, one that will enthrall birders and non-birders alike…It’s clear that there’s a virtuous circle at work in the scientific study of birds, so that the more we learn about them, the more we recognise the oversimplification and errors of our previous assumptions, the strange and remarkable otherness of life seen through a bird’s eye view. The Bird Way crystallises and threads together these revelations into a book full of wonders large and small.”
“Splendid and spellbinding.”
“This apt sequel to her best-selling The Genius of Birds (2016) showcases new science that is transforming our understanding of what it means to be a bird… The Bird Way shows us a new way to view birds, yes—but perhaps even better, through their eyes, intellect, and more-than-human senses, it lets birds reveal to us the hidden realities of our shared world.”
— SY MONTGOMERY, author of The Soul of an Octopus, in the AMERICAN SCHOLAR
“After reading Ackerman ('The Genius of Birds'), you may listen harder to the various chirps, cheeps and coos coming from your backyard. Her new book reminds us that we have a lot in common with birds — like us, they are capable of deception and manipulation, not to mention cooperation, culture and communication.”
— THE WASHINGTON POST, which recommended the book as a top 10 book for May 2020
“In The Bird Way, Jennifer Ackerman digs deeper and ranges farther into bird behavior, pulling tasty stories out of rich ground as she hops across the continents [ . . . ] Like a bowerbird, Ms. Ackerman gathers and displays treasures to amaze and delight—then lets the scientists’ stories take center stage [. . .] Refreshingly, Ackerman spotlights a number of female researchers.”
“From tales of dazzling plumage to anecdotes about almost unfathomable mimicry, Jennifer Ackerman’s The Bird Way is a walk through the mysteries, wonders, and peculiarities of the avian world [. . . ] Ackerman’s excitement and love for it are evident in her writing. Her superb storytelling paints a rich picture that engages the reader’s imagination, making sometimes-hard-to-grasp research accessible.”
“[Ackerman’s] exhilarating book will leave you as awestruck by the complexities and contradictions of bird life as she is.”
“A brightly original book ... Ackerman is a smooth writer; her presentation of ideas is deft, and her anecdotes are consistently engaging ... [She] demonstrates bird science as an evolving discipline that is consistently fascinating."
— KIRKUS REVIEW, starred review
“Ackerman packs her book with insightful observations, interesting factoids, and deep dives into new research about birds as varied as seagulls, emus, vultures, and robins.”
— UNDARK
“Ackerman reminds readers that birds are thinking beings... She brings scientific research alive with personal field observations and accounts of her encounters with colorful and fascinating birds...[The Bird Way] will engage all readers interested in learning more about birds and natural history.”
— LIBRARY JOURNAL, starred review
Further reviews
Why Birds Do What They Do, The Atlantic
A New Look at Bird Behavior, Cape and Islands
A Brilliant Synthesis of Bird Behavior, American Birding Association
The Bird Way Review: An Enthralling Study, The Guardian
Jennifer Ackerman on Taking Counsel from the Corvids, Waterstones
Best Nature Books of 2020, The Times (UK)
Where did birds first learn to sing? The Spectator
There's a bird that tricks other animals into dropping their lunch, New Scientist
Non-fiction reviews: The Bird Way, The Sydney Morning Herald
Leave it to the birds, they know what they're doing, Canberra Times
The Bird Way, by Jennifer Ackerman, is a reminder to look closer at the winged and feathered that share our gardens, Canberra Times