UID:
kobvindex_ZLB35078120
ISBN:
9780593298893
Content:
" An instant New York Times bestseller From the New York Times bestselling author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way , a brilliant scientific investigation into owls&mdash,he most elusive of birds&mdash,nd why they exert such a hold on human imagination For millennia, owls have captivated and intrigued us. Our fascination with these mysterious birds was first documented more than thirty thousand years ago in the Chauvet Cave paintings in southern France. With their forward gaze and quiet flight, owls are often a symbol of wisdom, knowledge, and foresight. But what does an owl really know? And what do we really know about owls? Though our fascination goes back centuries, scientists have only recently begun to understand in deep detail the complex nature of these extraordinary birds. Some two hundred sixty species of owls exist today, and they reside on every continent except Antarctica, but they are far more difficult to find and study than other birds because they are cryptic, camouflaged, and mostly active in the dark of night. Jennifer Ackerman illuminates the rich biology and natural history of these birds and reveals remarkable new scientific discoveries about their brains and behavior. She joins scientists in the field and explores how researchers are using modern technology and tools to learn how owls communicate, hunt, court, mate, raise their young, and move about from season to season. We now know that the hoots, squawks, and chitters of owls follow sophisticated and complex rules, allowing them to express not just their needs and desires but their individuality and identity. Owls duet. They migrate. They hoard their prey. Some live in underground burrows,some roost in large groups,some dine on black widows and scorpions. Ackerman brings this research alive with her own personal field observations about owls and dives deep into why these birds beguile us. What an Owl Knows is an awe-inspiring exploration of owls across the globe and through human history, and a spellbinding account of their astonishing hunting skills, communication, and sensory prowess. By providing extraordinary new insights into the science of owls, What an Owl Knows pulls back the curtain on the nature of the world&rsquo, most enigmatic group of birds."
Content:
Rezension(1): "〈a href=http://www.kirkusreviews.com target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/kirkus_logo.png alt=Kirkus border=0 /〉〈/a〉: April 15, 2023 The award-winning science writer dives into the mysterious world of owls. Following The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way, Ackerman turns her attention to owls, which continue to captivate and inspire us--even though there is much we have yet to learn about these majestic creatures. Owls, she writes, are powerful symbols in many cultures, frequently depicted in literature and art. Owls are hard to study in the wild for some of the same reasons we love them, writes the author. They're quiet, wary, secretive, and often elusive. Ackerman shares recent discoveries by researchers using new tools and technologies as well as her personal observations from the field. For example, scientists once thought owls did not scavenge, but camera traps have caught owls helping themselves vulturelike to carrion of all kinds. While owls are aggressive defenders of their young, the extent to which they protect their nests is impressive. Researchers have observed great horned owls throwing themselves to the ground, feigning an injury known as a broken wing display in order to distract would-be predators. In studying owl communication, scientists have found that some owlets begin vocalizing in the egg, even before they hatch. Given that owls are primarily nocturnal, observing their migratory patterns has also proved challenging. However, high-tech tracking devices have allowed us to follow the owls for vast distances, yielding surprising insights. Perhaps strangest of all, writes Ackerman, some Snowy Owls actually move north in the winter. Ackerman also discusses the dangers owls are facing due to natural disasters and human activity, including wildfires, logging, and the widespread use of rodenticides. This book, like Ackerman's others, is well written and researched, and the author offers sound advice from experts regarding what individuals can do to help save owls. Fascinating food for thought for owl seekers and sure to please any lover of immersive treks into the lives of birds. COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. " Rezension(2): "〈a href=http://www.publishersweekly.com target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/pw_logo.png alt=Publisher's Weekly border=0 /〉〈/a〉: Starred review from April 10, 2023 In this masterful survey, nature writer Ackerman ( The Bird Way ) explores the physiology and behavior of owls. She provides an overview of owls’ intelligence, evolution, mating strategies, nest-building abilities, and communication skills, relating how variations in owl calls allow the birds to express “their needs and desires” and convey “highly specific information about their individual identity, and their sex, size, weight, and state of mind.” Describing academic studies that illuminate the surprising social complexity of the nocturnal predators, Ackerman writes that nestling barn owls will altruistically share food with weaker siblings, and that screech owls sometimes engage in cannibalism, killing and eating fellow fledglings. The author highlights the heterogeneity of owl species, noting that they’re found on every continent but Antarctica and that while the Eurasian eagle owl is big enough to prey on baby deer, the tiny elf owl is only “about the size of a small pine cone.” There’s fascinating trivia on every page (owls perform “sophisticated mathematical computations” to pinpoint prey by sound, and some owl attacks on humans may be attempts to play), making for a revelatory glimpse into the lives of the “enigmatic” raptors. Bird lovers will be enthralled. Photos." Rezension(3): "〈a href=https://www.booklistonline.com target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/booklist_logo.png alt=Booklist border=0 /〉〈/a〉: May 1, 2023 Always eloquent and engaging, science writer Ackerman (The Bird Way, 2020) turns her attention to owls, those mysterious, nocturnal birds that everyone can recognize but few really know. Due to their cryptic plumage and nighttime habits, owls can be difficult to study, but new technologies and approaches have allowed researchers to discover their intimate lives. In this captivating survey of what makes an owl an owl and how different species owl in disparate ways, Ackerman delves into the biology and natural history of owls around the globe. She joins field scientists as they study owl adaptations,learn the vocabulary of hooting, chittering, and other owl vocalizations,observe courtship and chick rearing,and determine why some owls migrate, some stay put, and some join together in enormous roosts. One fascinating chapter delves into how much we've learned from captive, mostly rehabilitated, birds, while another answers the question of whether owls are truly wise. Ackerman's latest vivid and compelling narrative is enlivened by her own passion for owls and her excitement over discoveries in the wild that show that, for humans, owls continue to be full of surprises. COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. "
Language:
English
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