Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich

We have been on holiday for a week in Funchal where we did see some birds, Swifts, Blackcaps, Blackbirds, Grey Wagtails and inumerable pigeons. We didn’t really go there to bitd watch however but I did need a good solid book to read to I took “Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds”  by Bernd Heinrich and I wasn’t disappointed.

Heinrich recounts some of the very many experiments he has conducted over the years concerning the behaviour of Ravens. Taking different aspects of behaviour for each chapter he tells of his experiments in animal behaviour. This is a far from dry book and at the end of each chapter he briefly summarises the often contradictory conclusions he comes to. This is, of course, a rather unorthodox way of presenting scientific data but it comes over all the more credible for pointing out the difficulties of interpreting the evidence he collects. He adds to his own research with extensive accounts of studies by other scientists working in the same area and he also has plenty to say on current scientific orthodoxy that suggests that he feels that the scientific establishment cannot see the woods for the trees.

As expected from the title he covers many areas of raven ability and behaviour including pairing, nesting, breeding and rearing of young, the learning patterns of young ravens, hunting and cacheing strategies, interrelationships with other birds and also mammals, the power relationships between them, play and, of course and untimately, a consideration of how “intelligent” ravens are – a huge subject in itself of course and really what the book is about. There are also fantastic descriptions of the habitat and the many other birds he encounters in his field studies. This is a very accessible book and a very good read. It raises as many questions as it answers and this is perhaps why it is such a good read.

“Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds”  by Bernd Heinrich, Paperback 432 pages, Published by Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (Jun 2007), ISBN-10: 0061136050, ISBN-13: 978-0061136054