While reading The Minds of Birds (1996; Texas A&M University Press; 183 pp.; $29.95) by Alexander F. Skutch, I was reminded of a birding experience at Lake Michigan. A cold, brutal north wind blew off the lake. I found it difficult and almost painful to face into the wind and horizontally blowing snow for more than a few seconds. Yet out over the fantastically rough seas, ring-billed and herring gulls soared on the winds. What could induce them to be on the wing in such terrible conditions? They did not appear to be foraging for floating fish or performing pair-bonding flight displays. Feeling frustrated, I reluctantly concluded that the gulls were simply having fun in the wind. After finishing The Minds of Birds, I felt more comfortable with my conclusion.
In The Minds of Birds, Skutch synthesizes over 60 years of his bird behavior watching. Skutch’s interpretations of bird behavior are backed up by numerous citations from the scientific literature, where he has also made substantial contributions. In addition, the book is enhanced with 42 excellent illustrations by Dana Gardner. Skutch asserts that birds in general have emotions that can be categorized similar to emotions exhibited by human beings, and that birds are much more intelligent and aware of what they do than we humans have commonly acknowledged. Skutch states at the outset of the book that “If we believe…birds suffer and enjoy somewhat as we do, we have stronger motives for protecting them.” I agree with this sentiment; in the foreseeable future, I cannot imagine that birds will need less protection.
Throughout the book, parallels are drawn between bird and human behavior. It is important to note that Skutch is careful not to rate bird intelligence in relation to that of humans; rather, he points out similar mental processes involved in making decisions and expressing emotions. For example, birds can exhibit mental conflicts such as being torn between opposing actions, much like humans. Skutch indicates that this implies conscious decision making. In the chapter entitled “Emotions” Skutch suggests that pleasure, distress, and the show of affection are emotions readily exhibited in birds. There is an entire chapter devoted to examining the aesthetic sense in birds, where one conclusion is that birds must enjoy singing their songs much as we enjoy music, and that “if they find no joys or satisfactions in their lives, all their efforts to survive and reproduce are barren.” At times throughout the book, Skutch does tend to make such unsupported claims. But if his six decades of observing birds in the wild cannot support his claims, there is probably not much that can.
Bird intelligence is examined more fully in chapters that discuss tool using by birds, social interaction, abilities to remember events and anticipate the future, and rudimentary counting abilities. Problem-solving by birds is addressed in topics such as why birds sometimes act as if they are primarily ruled by inherited behavioral patterns with little flexibility. As Skutch points out, although most bird behavior is innate, in many situations birds also exhibit behavioral flexibility by learning and building upon innate patterns. But he also stresses that certain situations created somewhat recently by humans may demand behavioral responses too far removed from innate patterns; we, therefore, find birds flying into panes of glass and being attracted to and flying into tall buildings with bright lights. And yet, studies of cooperative breeding species—where non-parental but closely-related individuals help raise young—provide evidence that birds are not simple creatures. According to Skutch, the complex interactions (such as the recognition of individuals and relationships) that must occur in a breeding colony to avoid conflict and inbreeding indicate that “birds’ minds are capable of fine discriminations and establishing order in complex situations.
The chapter entitled “Play” has the most relevance to my observations of gulls at Lake Michigan. Skutch describes barn swallows playing with a feather: “A swallow would drop down, seize a feather in its bill, then swoop upward to circle above the other swallows and drop the plume. As it floated down, another caught it. So the game continued while with marvelous grace the birds traced wide arcs through the air.” As plainly stated, Skutch’s interpretation is that the swallows were playing a game. In the same chapter, he describes a scene involving herring gulls soaring in the breeze along the coast of Maine that was very similar to what I observed at Lake Michigan. Being unable to suggest another motive for their activity, Skutch concludes that the gulls were playing.
Of all the things that birds do, long distance migration from point to point across oceans or deserts impresses me the most. Consider that an airplane pilot requires sophisticated navigational abilities and technology to know where he or she is located in three spatial dimensions plus time. Yet a warbler, for instance, can fly off the Atlantic coast of North America, over the open ocean beyond sight of land, and arrive in South America! The next spring, it can make its way back north to the same breeding area. Of course, this is an example of inherited behavior; but still, behavioral flexibility allows birds blown off course to re-orient to the correct course. Skutch states that the minds of birds must be highly developed for information processing and decision making in order to successfully solve all the variety of problems encountered during a long-distance migration.
The Minds of Birds is a very readable and enjoyable book written by a man eminently qualified to interpret bird behavior. I hope the book succeeds in bringing humans and birds closer together, to foster understanding on our part, so that we may all continue to coexist on our troubled an rapidly changing planet.
[This review was originally published in Illinois Audubon magazine, Spring 1997 issue, pages 20-21.]
Review by Thomas V. Lerczak, author of Side Channels, A Collection of Nature Writing and Memoir.