Bird Brains and Behavior: A Synthesis

From two avian neurobiologists, a captivating deep dive into the mechanisms that control avian behavior.

The last few decades have produced extensive research on the neural mechanisms of avian behavior. Bird Brains and Behavior marries the enthusiasm of bird enthusiasts for the what, how, and why of avian behavior with the scientific literature on avian biology, offering the newest research in an accessible manner. Georg Striedter and Andrew Iwaniuk focus on a wide variety of behaviors, ranging from daily and seasonal rhythms to complex cognition. Importantly, avian behavior and mechanisms are placed in the context of evolutionary history, stressing that many are unique to birds and often found in only a subset of species.

Georg F. Striedter is Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California, Irvine. His books include Principles of Brain Evolution, Brains Through Time: A Natural History of Vertebrates, and Model Systems in Biology (MIT Press).

Andrew N. Iwaniuk is Professor at the University of Lethbridge. He has published more than 100 research articles, most of which are on bird brains and behavior.