How Birds Live Together - by Marianne Taylor (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A beautifully illustrated exploration of the ways birds cohabit

Featuring dramatic and delightful wild bird colonies and communities, How Birds Live Together offers a broad overview of social living in the avian world. From long-established seabird colonies that use the same cliffs for generations to the fast-shifting dynamics of flock formation, leading wildlife writer Marianne Taylor explores the different ways birds choose to dwell together.

Through fascinating text, color photos, maps, and other graphics, Taylor examines the advantages of avian sociality and social breeding. Chapters provide detailed information on diverse types of bird colonies, including those species that construct single-family nests close together in trees; those that share large, communal nests housing multiple families; those that nest in tunnels dug into the earth; those that form exposed colonies on open ground and defend them collectively, relying on ferocious aggression; those that live communally on human-made structures in towns and cities; and more. Taylor discusses the challenges, benefits, hazards, and social dynamics of each style of living, and features a wealth of species as examples.

Showcasing colonies from the edge of Scotland and the tropical delta of the Everglades to the Namib Desert in Africa, How Birds Live Together gives bird enthusiasts a vivid understanding of avian social communities.

Review Quotes

"This book is perhaps stronger on individual examples . . . those examples are interesting and diverse, covering all the continents and a wide variety of bird species. Like all Princeton University Press books, it is illustrated with dozens of beautiful coloured photographs as well as appropriate maps and other illustrations."---Tony Payne, The Glasgow Naturalist

"An informative and pleasing read."---Gabriel Marcacci, Community Ecology

"This book presents a great summary of how birds have learned to co-exist in close proximity, and how they cope with the stresses that such contact can bring. It is a great example of how to deliver interesting facts in an approachable way."---Keith Betton, IBIS Book Reviews

"[An] eclectic, well-written, visually pleasing book."---J.C. Kricher, CHOICE

"An informative and pleasing read for whoever wants to learn about birds' different forms of social life."---Gabriel Marcacci, Community Ecology

"A Birdwatcher's Yearbook Best Bird Book of the Year"

"A quirky, eclectic and informative mix about birds from all compass directions."---Phil Slade, ​​​​​​​Another Bird Blog

"A very interesting book, packed with information, well set out with lovely pictures, and I learned a lot more about how birds live together. A thoroughly recommended book."---Neville Davies, Gwent Wildlife Trust

"An educational and entertaining read."---Eric Brown, News Shopper

"Birdwatching Magazine's Book of the Month"

"Dive into this entertaining and informative book and you will leave with more knowledge than you entered it."---Bo Beolens, Fat Birder

"Marianne Taylor employs her knowledge, humour and substantial experience into something expansive and multifaceted."---Paul Meadows, British Naturalists Association

"The author, Marianne Taylor, has clearly done extensive research and showcases colonies from around the world . . . . The chapters are very readable and it is easy to pick up the narrative where you left off, making it accessible for someone entering into the world of colony birds."---Gill Birtles, British Trust for Ornithology

"This is a book you will want to read cover to cover."---Geoff Carpentier, North Durham Nature Newsletter

About the Author

Marianne Taylor is a freelance writer, editor, illustrator, and photographer. She has authored more than thirty books on natural history, including The Gull Next Door (Princeton) and The Story of Life in 10 1/2 Species.