The Bird: A Natural History of Who Birds Are, Where They Came From, and How They Live PDF

Colin Tudge wurde 1943 in London geboren. Er interessiert sich sein Leben lang für Biologie und seit langem für Landwirtschaft, Ernährungspolitik, „verschiedene Teile der Philosophie“ und interessiert sich heutzutage besonders für die Beziehung zwischen Wissenschaft und Religion –“ beides ist notwendig“. Er hat drei Kinder und zwei Enkelkinder und lebt mit seiner Frau Ruth West in Oxford.
Seit er 1965 sein Universitätsstudium (Peterhouse, Cambridge, Zoology) beendete, verdiente Colin Tudge seinen Lebensunterhalt mit Schreiben und Rundfunk. Zwischen 1980 und 1984 war er Feuilleton-Redakteur für das Magazin New Scientist. Er hat auch an Wissenschaftsprogrammen für BBC Radio gearbeitet und das reguläre Programm „Spectrum“ moderiert.
Colin Tudge hat für verschiedene Zeitschriften und Zeitungen geschrieben, darunter Farmer's Weekly, New Scientist, The New Statesman, Nature, The Times, The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, The Guardian, Resurgence, The Daily Mail, The London Review of Books, Natural History, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Index für freie Meinungsäußerung. Aber hauptsächlich schreibt er Bücher, von denen zwei in die engere Wahl für das COPUS/Poulence Science Book of the Year kamen; Last Animals at the Zoo (1991) und The Engineer in the Garden (1993). The Day Before Yesterday (1995) gewann den B.P. Auszeichnung zum Naturschutzbuch des Jahres.
Colin Tudge ist ehemaliges Mitglied des Council for the Zoological Society of London und seit 1995 Visiting Research Fellow des Centre for Philosophy an der London School of Economics.

The Bird: A Natural History of Who Birds Are, Where They Came From, and How They Live pdf von Colin Tudge

• How are birds so good at flying and navigating?
• Why are birds so like mammals– and yet so very different?
• Did birds descend from dinosaurs, and if so, does that mean birds are dinosaurs?
• How do they court each other and fend off rivals?
• What' s being communicated in birdsong?
• Can we ever know how birds think?
In this fascinating exploration of the avian class, Colin Tudge considers the creatures of the air. From their evolutionary roots to their flying, feeding, fighting, mating, nesting, and communicating, Tudge provocatively ponders what birds actually do–as well as why they do it and how. With the same curiosity, passion, and insight he brought to redwoods, pines, and palm trees in his widely acclaimed book The Tree, Tudge here studies sparrows, parrots, and even the Monkey-eating Eagle to better understand their world–and our own.
There is far more to a bird's existence than gliding gracefully on air currents or chirping sweetly from fence posts–the stakes are life and death. By observing and explaining the complex strategy that comes into play with everything from migration to social interaction to the timing of giving birth to young, Tudge reveals how birds are uniquely equipped biologically to succeed and survive. And he offers an impassioned plea for humans to learn to coexist with birds without continuing to endanger their survival.
Complete with an "annotated cast list" of all the known birds in the world– plus gorgeous illustrations–The Bird is a comprehensive and delightfully accessible guide for everyone from dedicated birders to casual birdwatchers that celebrates and illuminates the remarkable lives of birds.