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GIFTS OF THE CROW: HOW PERCEPTION, EMOTION, AND THOUGHT ALLOW SMART BIRDS TO BEHAVE LIKE HUMANS. By John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell. Atria Books, New York, New York, USA. 2013: 320 pages. ISBN: 978-1-4391-98742. $15.00 (paperback).-Birds are often cited as important ambassadors of the natural world and bird watching or birding as a hobby that increases appreciation for ecological connectedness and conservation. That is hopefully true, but as anyone who studies birds in urban areas knows, mentioning crows to homeowners leads to unpredictable turns of conversation. It can produce an admiring tale of crow ingenuity or, just as easily, reactions such as ''I hate them, they wake me up in the morning'' or ''they have killed all my song- birds''. This is not a response heard to a mention of robins or bluebirds. On the other hand, most people recognize a crow when they see one and recognize their good guy-bad guy status, even though few understand crows' complex social lives or roles in ecological communities. Thus crows can play an important positive role in how people view and value the natural world-the ultimate gift.
It is against this backdrop that John Marzluff and Tony Angell have set their goal of broadening everyone's appreciation of crows. Gifts of the Crow is clearly aimed at the non-specialist and sets out several themes. First, the elements of crows' intelligence are adaptations that have allowed them (and other corvids) to solve problems and succeed in a human-altered world. Second, these abilities are mechanistically underwritten by the structure and physiology of a large, integrative brain that has many functional similarities to our own. Finally, non-specialists or citizen scientists can contribute to our knowledge of crows' behavior and abilities through their careful observations and documented anecdotes. Such observations are important sources of information for scientists. This proposition should be exciting and encouraging to all of us who are backyard naturalists and bird enthusiasts.
Of course, many readers will be scientifically sophisticated-whether scientists or not-and will include specialists in behavior, neurobiology and even corvid biology. For these readers, this book raises a number of...