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Description: |
379 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm |
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Bibliography Note: |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 337-354) and index. |
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Contents Note: |
Contents: Ravens at a moose -- Ravens as hunters and scavengers -- Calling in carcass-openers? -- Selfish herd? -- Corvid comparison -- What is acceptable evidence? -- Early winter confusion -- Are ravens hawks of doves? -- Raven intelligence -- Short work of two sheep -- Cow -- Loner -- Tame birds from the nest -- Another hypothesis -- Territorial adults and wandering juveniles -- Communal roosts -- Do they come from a roost? -- To catch and mark a raven, or two, or more -- Courting and displays -- Individuals -- Spring surprises -- At the nest -- Raven calls -- Residents keep it all -- Why be brave? -- Tradeoffs and complexities -- Cage raisings -- Last roundups. |
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Summary, Etc. Note: |
Summary: A fascinating and important work of ornithology, which led E.O. Wilson to call it "one of the most interesting discoveries I've seen in animal sociobiology in years," Ravens In Winter is a scientist's impassioned study to understand the mysterious social habits of one of nature's most formidable birds, the raven. Why do ravens, generally understood to be solitary creatures, share food between each other during winter? This was the question Bernd Heinrich asked himself as he was observing another one of his prime research subjects, the highly social bumblebee. And it was during these trips to Maine, the site of much of his research, where he first noticed this "unusual" behavior of ravens. From an evolutionary perspective, the raven's willingness to share food challenged conventional wisdom. There was no biological imperative, it seemed, to their communal spirit. The more Heinrich observed their habits, the more odd the bird's behavior became. What started as mere curiosity turned into an impassioned research project, and Ravens In Winter, the first research of its kind, explores the fascinating biological puzzle of the raven's rather unconventional social habits. |
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Additional Physical Forms: |
Online version: Heinrich, Bernd, 1940- Ravens in winter. New York : Summit Books : [Distributed by Simon & Schuster], ©1989 (OCoLC)609190734 |