What do you see when you look at a bird? Maybe you, like me, cut your birding teeth with Roger Tory Peterson's field marks method of identification, a fine start to knowing birds but well short of complete. Some birders, while attuned to many other aspects of birds, are still focused on identification and listing.
There's always so many more new and enlightening things to learn. Covering all aspects of bird behavior and more, this latest entry in the Peterson Reference Guide series will be a great addition to any bird lover's library. Kricher provides fascinating details about the anatomy and evolution of birds that is the basis for behavior. The chapter on flight includes details of feather evolution and structure, and brain and senses includes details of anatomy. Each chapter goes well beyond simple descriptions of behavior. A chapter on bird diversity includes a helpful discussion of the ever changing and sometimes frustrating re-ordering of species names and relationships. Attention to conservation and birding ethics is evident throughout.
Perusing the book in the “slow” winter season, my attention was caught by a number of bits that I can only hope to remember as I get outside. One I'm eager to listen for: the nocturnal song of the ovenbird. Everyone has heard the ovenbird's “teacher teacher teacher” song – see Robert Frost's poem – but I venture to guess that most, like me, had no idea these familiar woodland birds also sing a very different “emotional release” song at dusk or even during the night. Kricher says “An ovenbird will fly at dusk or during the night above the woodlot or forest where it is nesting, singing a rich warbling song... The function of the dusk/night song is unclear.”
Now that is something to listen for this coming spring!
Behavior and song are critical to identification. Typical songs are key; knowing that there are many variations is a bonus. Some years ago I tried hard to track down a mid-day sparrow-like song from high in an oak at the edge of a field. I finally found a small brown sparrow too far away for good ID, singing a complex musical song - loud clear notes followed by a couple more slurred, variable ones, and then a rich trill. Reviewing recordings back home I found a match: the dawn song of a field sparrow. Far from dawn and not a typical field sparrow location, it was a memorable surprise.
While acknowledging bird intelligence, Kricher is fairly conservative in his attribution of behaviors to either intelligence or instinct. The bibliography includes a number of books and articles on that subject, including Jennifer Ackerman's excellent The Genius of Birds. (See also Ackerman's more recent, The Bird Way reviewed by CAS’ Miyako Pleines.)
My own appreciation of bird behavior was given a big boost with the publication of the first Stokes Guide to the Behavior of Common Birds in 1979, and the two more volumes in that series. To my surprise the books by Don and Lillian Stokes, which I still find very helpful, are not included in Kricher's extensive bibliography.
This book was deemed the top bird book release of 2020 by one American Birding Association reviewer. Listen to the podcast of that conversation, Birding Book Club, Best of 2020, which covers more worthy reads.
An extended conversation with John Kricher is on a more recent ABA podcast.
I won't immediately remember many of the tidbits that caught my attention in this very thorough guide. It is a reference guide, perhaps more for searching than casual reading. Kricher is an academic with many years teaching experience, and sometimes the book reads a little like a text. He has included many entertaining anecdotes and there are so many fascinating aspects that I did read it through start to finish. One could spend profitable minutes just looking at the many beautiful photos.
So many books – so little time. Kricher's guide should be front and center on any bird watcher's shelf, close by ID guides, where it can be consulted and enjoyed after any bird walk or back yard observation.