Description
Book SynopsisA lively exploration of animal behaviour in all its glorious complexity, whether in tiny wasps, lumbering elephants or ourselves
Trade Review"This book is a joy—a provocative, highly entertaining exploration of the roots of our behavior. Marlene Zuk dispels the murk and misconceptions about how our sex roles, language, intelligence, even our mental illness came to be, offering a fresh and invig" -- Jennifer Ackerman, The New York Times best-selling author of The Genius of Birds
"With
Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test, Marlene Zuk, a master of scientific storytelling, presents the natural world as a source of powerful insights for understanding behavior across animal species, including our own. With authority, clarity, and wit, the author guides readers on a revelatory journey into the connected nature of behavior across the tree of life." -- Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, coauthor of Zoobiquity and Wildhood
"In
Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test, Marlene Zuk uses a light touch to probe heavy questions: What is behavior? How is it related to intelligence? Does domestication make one dumb? Over the course of her investigation, she introduces readers to Lesser Black-backed Gulls that lie in wait to steal student sandwiches, crayfish that experience anxiety, and sea slugs that decapitate themselves (all the better to grow a new parasite-free body). The book, sparkling with humor and curiosity, is a pleasure from start to finish." -- Kim Todd, author of Sparrow
