Bird Talk
An Exploration of Avian Communication
By: Barbara Ballentine, Jeremy Hyman
Unravel the complexities of bird communication, from birdsong to visual signals and behaviours.
Bird Talk delves into new scientific developments to reveal the complexities of how birds make, learn, and use sound in a bewildering array of songs and calls. The beauty of birdsong is one of the joys of nature, and this book reveals how songs are learned and performed, why the quality of a male’s repertoire can affect his mating success, and how birds use song-matching and countersinging in territorial disputes. + Full description
Bird Talk illustrates how birds communicate through visual signals too, from the dazzling feathers of a Peacock to the jumping displays that a Jackson’s Widowbird performs to show off his long tail. Plumage features such as the red bill shield of a Pukeko can indicate dominance, and aggressive wing-waving is used to ward off impostors.
Bird Talk will help you understand how birds communicate in a range of situations, whether in harmony or in conflict, providing essential new insight into avian intelligence.
- Short descriptionNews
Sales in Australia and New Zealand only. Elsewhere, this title is available through Quarto Publishing Group (UK) and Cornell University Press (USA) (external links).
Reviews
“The authors provide a fascinating and authoritative introduction to the communication systems of birds. The book includes thorough coverage of birdsong while also describing many less familiar avian signals, from the false alarm calls of White-winged Shrike-tanagers to the coordinated dances of Long-tailed Manakins and the tangerine smell of the Crested Auklet. Readers will gain a much fuller appreciation of what is being communicated when they observe birds signaling in nature. Highly recommended.”
William Searcy, Professor of Ornithology, University of Miami
"Highly recommended, especially for non-specialists but there is much in this book to inspire anyone interested in bird behaviour."
Peter Fullagar, Canberra Bird Notes 46(1), May 2021
"I enjoyed this interesting book and learned a good deal from it. It is well produced and attractive, and written by authors who know their subject; not always so these days."
Clifford B Frith, Australian Field Ornithology Vol 38, 2021
"In this book there are so many well-described new discoveries about communication between birds around the world that it is inspiring to observe our own birds more closely. I highly recommend this book."
Els Wakefield, Tasmanian Naturalist 2021
"There’s plenty of interest here, lots of specific stories that are fun and fascinating to read."
Ian Fraser Natural History Reviews #30, January 2022
"Bird Talk invites a wide range of readers to learn about the complex, often cryptic, and undoubtedly unique forms of bird communication that may otherwise be inaccessible to non-scientific, or non-bird loving, readers."
Sarah Walsh, Western Australian Bird Notes, No. 181, March 2022
"An impressive, scholarly and eminently readable book."
Alan Lill, Corella Vol. 45, 2021
"This book makes the findings of recent scientific research about avian communication accessible for general readers, keen bird watchers and students."
Gabor Bedo, The Naturalist News, December 2021
Details
Hardback | May 2021 | $ 44.99ISBN: 9781486315307 | 192 pages | 254 x 203 mm
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Colour photographs, Illustrations
Features
- Engaging and authoritative text written by animal behaviour experts
- Themed chapters cover the different types of visual and acoustic communication that birds use
- Illustrated throughout with stunning photography and informative graphics
- Foreword by Mike Webster, the Robert G. Engel Professor of Ornithology in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University and Director of the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Contents
Foreword by Mike WebsterIntroduction: What is Communication?
Chapter 1: Communication Channels
Chapter 2: Male–Female Communication
Chapter 3: Territoriality and Dominance
Chapter 4: Parent–Offspring Communication
Chapter 5: Warning Signals
Chapter 6: Group Life
Chapter 7: Communication in a Noisy World
Further Reading
Index
Picture Credits
Authors
Barbara Ballentine is Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Western Carolina University. She has published articles on song production and mate choice.
Jeremy Hyman is Professor in the Department of Biology at Western Carolina University, where he teaches ornithology and animal behaviour. He has published numerous articles on bird behaviour and is the author of the children’s book Bird Brains.
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