Crows and people share similar traits and social strategies. To a surprising extent, to know the crow is to know ourselves.”from the Preface
From the cave walls at Lascaux to the last painting by Van Gogh, from the works of Shakespeare to those of Mark Twain, there is clear evidence that crows and ravens influence human culture. Yet this influence is not unidirectional, say the authors of this fascinating book: people profoundly influence crow culture, ecology, and evolution as well.
John Marzluff and Tony Angell examine the often surprising ways that crows and humans interact. The authors contend that those interactions reflect a process of cultural coevolution.” They offer a challenging new view of the human-crow dynamica view that may change our thinking not only about crows but also about ourselves.
Featuring more than 100 original drawings, the book takes a close look at the influences people have had on the lives of crows throughout history and at the significant ways crows have altered human lives. In the Company of Crows and Ravens illuminates the entwined histories of crows and people and concludes with an intriguing discussion of the crow-human relationship and how our attitudes toward crows may affect our cultural trajectory.

In the Company of Crows and Ravens

Science & Math

John M. Marzluff

Tony Angell

Biological Sciences

Yale University Press

A flock of Pinyon Jays arrive in a flash of blue, and leave again just as suddenly. This once mysterious bird is now the subject of over 20 years of intensive research involving over one thousand color-marked jays by Russell Balda, John Marzluff and their colleagues and helpers. This plain blue bird has turned out to be anything but plain in its biology and behavior.Uniquely dependent on the seeds of the Pinyon Pine for food, they have developed a number of behavioral and morphological adaptations to best utilize this resource, above all caching enough seeds each fall to supply their needs throughout the winter and fuel their unusual habit of nesting in late winter.Fluctuation in pine seed supply, both by season and between years, poses special problems for these birds and has led to their extremely flexible and complex social system in which learning and memory play an unusually large part. They store pine seeds and retrieve them with uncanny accuracy; they form lifelong pair bonds and nest colonially, occasionally involving younger birds to help established pairs rear the young; and they use their large vocabulary to coordinate activities within one of the largest known avian societies.This intriguing story will fascinate both the enthusiastic amateur birder and the professional alike. Packed with information, it presents Pinyon Jay biology in a readable form and places them into the wider context of studies on bird ecology and evolution. Fine illustrations by Tony Angell, with additional pictures by Caroline Bauder, complete this attractive addition to any birder's bookshelf.                                      Illustrated by well-known US artistAttractive line illustrations and halftone platesFascinating cooperative behaviourEvolutionary and ecological considerations

The Pinyon Jay: Behavioral Ecology of a Colonial and Cooperative Corvid (Poyser Monographs)

Poyser

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Books by John M. Marzluff