Welcome to Litsy!

There are things that birds know or can figure out that is comparable to humans and/or other primates. They are smart. Most of us know how smart corvids are, but other birds are smart, too, in different ways, including sparrows, pigeons… some birds that aren‘t “traditionally” thought of as smart. Cont in comments...

...the beat of music, comprehend basic principles of physics, remember the past, and plan for the future.

Please excuse the fucked up cover— got stuck to the bedside table bc my cat knocked a glass of water onto it 🙄 Read this in honor of spring migration. Started in April, took a hiatus, and just now finished it. Not bad, but also not the best— lacks the charm & wit of, say, Bill Bryson or Robin Wall Kimmerer‘s writings. But definitely has interesting information if you‘re into birds (like me!)

I really enjoy Jennifer Ackerman‘s writing style. This is her second bird- topic book I‘ve read, and I‘ve another on my TBR shelf.

Things I learned:
-House Sparrows aren‘t native to North America, they were brought by Europeans and now are among the most plentiful birds here. Mockingbirds also.
-Alex the African Grey parrot could understand a lot of human speech, and could answer questions about color, quantity, and more!
-So much more!

Report at 9:00. Wait for 30 minutes. Get told to come back in an hour. Welcome to jury duty, Day 2. 🤦‍♀️

An energetically written overview of what we know (and speculate) about the intellect of birds. Covering skills from spacial navigation to social manipulation, we meet many different species and many scientists‘ equally ingenious designs to test our feathered friends. I learned a ton, including delights like pigeons can learn to distinguish between the styles of famed impressionist painters, but the jumpy, short-winded style wasn‘t my favorite.

This was a fascinating look at intelligence in birds - solving puzzles, amazing navigation, working in groups - it was really interesting. And check out my backyard - the one time a year it looks gorgeous!

It‘s a perfect day for the backyard hammock!

As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge frontiers of research, Ackerman not only tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself that are shifting our view of what it means to be intelligent. Birds are a favorite part of spring. Happy First Day of Spring!!
#vernalequinox #windsofmarch

Enjoyable and full of recent studies of bird intelligence. Made me more observant of birds on my walks, their perches, pecks, swoops, glides, and song. Sometimes the writing felt constrained. Ackerman clearly has a personal love of birds and I wish she had let forth a full-throated exclamation of the joy and wonder in being present to personally see and hear these unique and sometimes rare creatures.

No bingo but A lot of reading got done in January. #bookspinbingo #bookspin #doublespin

February‘s TBR~

1. Minnesota, USA
2. I haven‘t been recreational reading, but I did enjoy Darwin‘s Origins, Descent, and Frankenstein for a course.
3. It really varies, but often my favorites are short stories and novellas. It takes a lot of skill to be concise.
4. Tagging anyone who hasn‘t already been!

#lockdownlowdown @cathysaid @veritysalter

Starting this lovely book. It‘s so nice to be free and outside!

Might be going a little overboard with the annotations on this one (I just have...so many bird thoughts. So many.)

The Genius of Birds reveals the intelligence displayed by some bird species in learning, song complexity, tool use, social structure and more. I think many would find this fascinating, though for me it was good but not great owing to my own limited interest in birds. But that‘s me, not the book.

#Booked2020 Live and learn (Just under the wire—it‘s still March here!)

Quick read. Really interesting

Social distancing on a bird refuge. Saw more than a thousand snow geese lift off the lake today, resting a bit as they make their way from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. Hope to see sandhill cranes tomorrow. Looking forward to stars and campfire, bourbon and a book tonight!

1. Headed out camping to look for sandhill cranes and also expect to finish the tagged book (perfect) and The Yellow House. 2. I read pretty dark and non-fiction LOL. But I can recommend Frankissstein. A wonderful book with both humor and thought-provoking content. 3. I recommend Spokane WA Auntie‘s bookstore! Auntiesbooks..com. Spent more money than I should have yesterday but support local!

1. No. 2.The Genius of Birds, used. 3. I‘m a news junkie. Hometown paper, a second smaller town paper for work reasons, online subscriptions to NYT and WA app. And I get (and love) the New Yorker. No TV news. 4. Hit the snooze twice, sweetie gets up and makes me coffee and brings it to me in bed. He‘s a good egg as they say! Happy Friday!!

Gilda jumped in my lap to check out my latest book. She highly approves.

I read this in one sitting while watching blue jays fight with squirrels at the bird feeders. The chapter on bird songs and calls and the connections between them and human language was particularly fascinating.

This was just a delightful read, and if you have even a little interest in birds (AND YOU SHOULD) it‘s definitely worth your time. Unless you‘re an actual ornithologist, you‘ll certainly learn a lot, much of it quite amusing and charming but also fascinating. There was a little repetition throughout, but that happens with a lot of nonfiction, I‘ve found. 4/5 ⭐️

LOL birbs rule

Reciprocity in the form of gift giving is another kind of social behavior unusual in nonhumans but fairly common among certain birds, including crows. [...] [In] recent years, tales have rolled in from all over the country of crows offering up gifts of jewelry, hardware, shards of glass, a Santa figurine, a foam dart from a toy gun, a Donald Duck Pez dispenser, even a candy heart with “love” printed on it, delivered just after Valentine‘s Day.

You might not tap the chickadee as the brightest bulb in birddom. It‘s known primarily for its cuteness. Round, fluffy little body in handsome gray coat & smart black cap. Short bill. Oversized head like ET [...] But the chickadee is more than just the bird of verve & agility. It‘s also acrobatic in its aptitudes, curious, intelligent, & opportunistic, w/a remarkable memory: “a bird masterpiece beyond all praise.”

[MY FAVE BIRB IS CUTE & SMART!]

If you follow me on Instagram (alisonrose711 🙂) you know I fucking love birbs, and I am 100% willing to believe in their genius status. #nowreading

The Genius of Birds is an excellent look in to intelligence of birds covering topics such as their use of tools, complex social systems, vocal "virtuosity", aesthetic nature, and navigational acuity. I learned a lot from this book and there were some neat mysteries addressed and mind blowing information which was new to me. l

This book is in exactly what you would expect - full of delightful facts and anecdotes about birds. You might look differently at the sparrows on the sidewalk and the cardinal at your feeder.

Finished listening to this one while working out this morning. It's filled with interesting information about birds, discussion about the nature of intelligence and the (understandably) human lens through which we view it, and a somewhat dire warning about the effects of climate change on bird species. It's made me more aware of the avian dramas playing out in my neighborhood.

Audiobook fun: Washing kale, lettuce, and tomatoes from my garden while laughing about escaped domestic cockatoos teaching wild cockatoos to swear. (Then feeling disappointed moments later when the narrator said that monarchs mimic the coloration of the poisonous viceroy butterfly when it's the other way around. I need to get the book book and see if it's incorrect there, too.)

Starting what I think will be the perfect read for spring / summer, listening to birdsong in my garden.

Great read! I am not a bird lover by any stretch, but I found this review of the research on bird cognition utterly riveting. Each chapter explores a different aspect of mental ability, from problem solving to social behavior to song to navigation. Though it‘s clear Ackerman has great respect for her avian subjects, she never oversells the evidence, always presenting the “killjoy” explanation when tempted to anthropomorphize.
#nonfiction #science

#HelloThursday

This school year has been CRAZY busy and I‘ve neglected Litsy horribly. Just saw this and decided to go for it anyway even though it‘s from a million years ago.

1. Nonfiction is my favorite!
2. Maybe 50-50? Are we counting by books, pages, or hours? 🤔 I usually have one of each going
3. Science, esp biology & history of science
4. Like...ever?? 😬 📚
How about, favorite this year: I Contain Multitudes, Ed Yong.
5. Current read

#FriyayIntro
1. Past: Babysitter‘s club. Current: The Red Queen, LOTR, Narnia, Sherlock Holmes.
2. The Office, Doctor Who, BBC Sherlock, Psych.
3. Never. For any reason.
4. No plans.. probably some leftovers.
5. Yep. He stole my tagged book. Thief!

@jesshowbooks

#FriyayIntro
1. Turquoise or a blue green mix
2. Psych and The Office
3. Tagged. sooo many birds
4. Don‘t normally eat burgers..probably mayo and ketchup
5. See some family tomorrow.. going to go see The Ocean‘s 8 movie

@jesshowbooks

Really enjoying this book!! 🦅

Lots of interesting stuff. Some of it goes a bit beyond what most biologists would agree with, but the anecdotes are pretty cool and it does describe a lot of studies.

Hanging out with my sister in a coffee shop after a book shopping trip. Of course, we're both reading books we brought with us.

The Genius of Birds isn't anything new to me, but there's some interesting anecdotes.

I am almost finished with this gem and it is very intriguing! Literally gives "bird brain" a whole new meaning.

Vino with the BFF. She‘s reading this, not I, but she‘s a heckuva scholar, so you might want to check it out.

"About 80% of bird species live in socially monogamous pairs.... This is largely because the business of feeding nestlings is so taxing, requiring biparental care. "

"In fact, as far as we know, only four groups of animals on the planet craft their own complex tools: humans, chimps, orangutans, and New Caledonian crows."

Interesting look at how birds display genius, and what that means about how humans and other animals learn, acquire language, use tools, etc. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️