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Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds | 
 enlarge | Author: Bernd Heinrich
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 25515
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 0061136050
Dewey Decimal Number: 598.864
EAN: 9780061136054
Publication Date: June 1, 2007
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Shipping: International shipping available
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Amazon.com Review
Beyond croaking, "Nevermore," what exactly do ravens do all day? Bernd Heinrich, biology professor at the University of Vermont and author of Ravens in Winter, has spent more than a decade learning the secrets of these giants of the crow family. He has observed startlingly complex activities among ravens, including strong pair-bonding, use of tools, elaborate vocal communication, and even play. Ravens are just plain smart, and we can see much of ourselves in their behavior. They seem to be affectionate, cranky, joyful, greedy, and competitive, just like us. And in Mind of the Raven, Heinrich makes no bones about attributing emotions and intellect to Corvus corax--just not the kind we humans can understand. He mostly catalogs their behaviors in the manner of a respectful anthropologist, although a few moments of proud papa show through when he describes the pet ravens he hand-raised to adulthood. Heinrich spends hundreds of loving hours feeding roadkill fragments to endlessly hungry raven chicks, and cold days in blinds watching wild ravens squabble and frolic. He is a passionate fan of his "wolf-birds," a name he gave them when he made the central discovery of the book: that ravens in Yellowstone National Park are dependent on wolves to kill for them. Mind of the Raven offers inspiring insight into both the lives of ravens and the mind of a truly gifted scientist. --Therese Littleton
Product Description
Heinrich involves us in his quest to get inside the mind of the raven. But as animals can only be spied on by getting quite close, Heinrich adopts ravens, thereby becoming a "raven father," as well as observing them in their natural habitat. He studies their daily routines, and in the process, paints a vivid picture of the ravens' world. At the heart of this book are Heinrich's love and respect for these complex and engaging creatures, and through his keen observation and analysis, we become their intimates too. Heinrich's passion for ravens has led him around the world in his research. Mind of the Raven follows an exotic journey—from New England to Germany, and from Montana to Baffin Island in the high Arctic—offering dazzling accounts of how science works in the field, filtered through the eyes of a passionate observer of nature. Each new discovery and insight into raven behavior is thrilling to read, at once lyrical and scientific.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Mind of the Raven November 24, 2008
This is one of the best natural history books I have read. It is a nice blend of the personal story of living with and researching ravens and the rich discovery of the very complex world of ravens. It is well written. Humans often significantly underestimate the intellegence and emotional-social complexity of other species. This book provides a more realistic view of another very fascinating species. As a backpacker and bowhunter, this is a wonderful book to read sitting deep in the woods with a raven watching from a nearby branch.
excellent scientist, writing, subject June 10, 2008
Heinrich is a fine scientist with a flexible mind who enjoys animals, nature and adventure. He also writes well. While Heinrich knows all the rules of producing successful journal articles, he is sensitive to the anecdote which can also be enlightening.
Ravens are an interesting subject because they are very bright, are a social animal, and enjoy play. They also have language mimicking capabilities just like parrots, but unfortunately, no one has tried to systematically teach ravens to understand and use human language as they have with parrots. This may be because they are not very easy to have as pets. In fact one of the most enjoyable chapters is Heinrich's account of a couple who actually keep a raven indoors as a pet, although the raven often accompanies them outside, untethered.
There are a few negatives, none of which should discourage anyone from reading this book. In the early chapters, it seemed to me that too much time was spent discussing investigations that turned out not to be very enlightening. For me ravens are not as likeable as some other animals: they are too devoted to expressing dominance, even when it doesn't seem to provide evolutionary advantages; for example, they will expend great effort to keep other birds from bathing, ultimately fruitlessly, and without any benefit to themselves. Finally, Heinrich is convinced that genetic evolution has resulted in the symbiosis between raven and wolf, when it seems to me that he cannot rule out cultural evolution; Heinrich himself notes Raven culture, and its importance is indicated by the fact that ravens don't mate for 3 or 4 years, even though they grow to adult size in a few weeks. During that 3-4 years, they are learning.
Intelligent bird, observing man January 18, 2008
"Mind of the Raven" is science accessible to the non-scientist.
This very interesting narrative describes a biologist's quest to figure out how ravens work - is their behavior innate, governed solely by genes, or do they have some sort of thinking process? Each field experiment answers some questions and raises others, leading to further experiments, some worked in the wild, and some with birds he raised in captivity.
Bernd Heinrich finds that these birds apparently have an intelligent approach to life: they can learn from experience and have the ability to deal with potential predators, to hide food from competitors, and to figure out puzzles.
The reader gets a fascinating look not only at the behavior and mind of ravens but also insight into how a biologist's mind works.
I originally got this book out of the library, but liked it so much I bought two to give as gifts.
Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds
See others by the same author, for instance Bumblebee Economics
 Mind of the Raven July 31, 2006
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
Very informative yet not too scientific. Contains many facts not commonly known about these intelligent birds. This book could change your mind about them.
The ultimate book of raven behavior April 3, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I knew the raven had many interesting feature to them before I opened this book but after reading "mind of the raven" I will say I was amazed of both the research Bernd Heinrich has done and of this remarkable bird. Heinrich are presenting his findings about the ravens where he is taking the subject (the raven) seriously and simultaneously managed to make it attractive for people that have not specialize in beaks and feathers.
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