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From D. Donovan, Editor/Sr. Reviewer "California
Bookwatch"
(California, USA)
A passionate observer of the crow shares knowledge,
March 18, 2006
CAW OF THE WILD: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SECRET WORLD OF
CROWS arrived nearly simultaneously to CROWS and
provides an intriguing contrast in style and approach.
Barb Kirpluk is a passionate observer of crows and here
shares her findings while tracking three urban crow
families through their daily routines. She's befriended
them, gained their trust, and thus provides a more
personal observational style on crow habits and social
relationships, including a healthy dose of scientific
literature but adding a personal touch which brings the
crow family to life. Five
out of five stars.
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From Bernd Heinrich
author of "Ravens in Winter" and "Mind of the Raven"
I've always thought that nature is the
greatest show on earth, and in
this book you prove it.
From Michael
Westerfield of Crows.net:
If ever you wondered what it would be
like to make friends with your local crows and just how you would go
about gaining their trust, this is the book to read. Caw of the Wild
is an intensely personal journal of what can only be described as the
author's love affair with a group of neighborhood crows and her quest
both to become friends with them and learn everything possible about
their lives, language, and behavior. In the process she faces the
problems of identifying individuals among a population who all look very
much the same, without even a visible difference between males and
females and of trying to decipher the language, both verbal and
non-verbal, of a non-human species. During the course of her
observations, she independently discovers some of the key relationships
of crows, both within their immediate families and with their neighbors,
adding interesting nuances to the work of professional ornithologists.
Caw of the Wild is a book very much worth reading both by those
who have yet to discover the incredible world of crow society and those
whose more experienced, but dispassionate approach to the study of
crows, has perhaps removed them a bit from the sheer joy that one can
experience simply from getting to know these intelligent birds as
individuals. Highly Recommended.
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From J. Salerno at
Amazon.com:
A poignant and fascinating personal study of
crow behavior, January 8, 2006
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Reviewer: |
J.
Salerno "Nature Lover" (Upstate
New York) |
With a beautiful and engaging style, the author
tells of her personal experiences with 4
families of crows from her neighborhood. The
details she gives are so thorough and
heartwarming, you will come to know her crow
friends as if you were actually there with her,
experiencing what she did. You'll be drawn in
and captivated as the human relationship with
them evolves and strengthens. You'll also learn
much about crow behavior, and when you're not
sure why the crows are behaving a certain way,
the intuitive author offers her theories, which
are quite plausible.
The second part of the book tells of her
experiences while volunteering at a wildlife
rehabilitation center, as she studies the
behavior of the 2 indoor and 3 outdoor crows
which reside there. Because they are confined to
a cage, individual personalities as well as the
relationships between the 3 outdoor crows can be
intimately viewed.
If you are at all interested in befriending
crows, or are just curious what they are like, I
can't imagine a better book to read. Crows are
so intelligent; I especially loved the emotional
bond that developed between crow and human. This
is one of the best books I have ever read! Five
out of five stars.
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From R. Wemple at
Amazon.com:
For birdwatchers and nature lovers,
November 13, 2005
Vivid prose packed with informative engaging
stories of crows the author has studied over the
course of several years. This study of crows is
both personal and rich in extraordinary
anecdotes. The author's patience at befriending
the crows pays off in up close insights about
their lives that puts in practice what
ornithologists have discovered and written about
in scholarly type books and journals. This is a
very entertaining journey through a very
compelling subject. If you love birds, and were
ever the least bit interested in crows you won't
be disappointed. Five
out of five stars. |
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From Barnes and Noble.com:
Reader,
nature and bird lover, November 11, 2005
You will learn an awful
lot about the way crows live in this
very detailed view of their lives. Never
boring, or overly bogged down with dry
or stiff science talk it reads like a
story. Yet the book is packed with
information on behavior, and great
stories of crows the author has studied.
Humorous and poignant, you won’t know
whether to laugh or cry. I highly
recommend this book to anyone who loves
nature. Those of you who are interested
in crows will find plenty to entertain,
and those of you less than enamored will
never look at them as “big black birds”
again. Five out
of five stars
A
Reader, A
reviewer, January 5, 2006
Caw of
the Wild
is an
intimate
look at
one
woman’s
love
affair
with the
American
crow.
Beautifully
written,
laced
with
humor
and
filled
with raw
emotion,
the book
reveals
the
character
of these
often
misunderstood
birds.
The
author
examines
the
natural
lives
and
habits
of crows
through
several
years of
meticulous
observation
and
study.
Highly
recommended
for an
individual
or group
interested
in a
behavioral
analysis
of the
American
crow. Five out
of five stars
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General Comments:
I
am a fellow crow enthusiast and
naturalist educator and I simply
love your story!
You have inspired me to make
attempts to befriend my crow
neighbors. Three hang out in my
yard and now one at least is landing
in the yard to pick up the bits of
food I throw down. I sing the "ka
kuk, ka kuk" to let them know there
is something of interest in the
yard.
I
read your book, completely
engrossed! Every free moment I
could take I read.
Watching the sky for a miracle
to fly by,
Arianna
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From a blog on
Crows and Ravens:
Kirpluk, Barb.
Caw of the Wild: Observations from the Secret World of Crows.
New York: iUniverse, 2005. 159 pp. ISBN
0595362680
For those
who may only dream of conducting an analysis of ravens on the scale of
Bernd Heinrich studies, as he did in Ravens in Winter and Mind
of the Raven, Kirpluk’s book is an inspiring read.
Caw of the Wild
is a bird lover’s passionate observation of crows in her own urban
neighborhood. Gaining the trust of a few crow families, Kirpluk attempts
to understand and explain their complex and intriguing social lives.
While Kirpluk’s observations are often revealing, the secret world of
crows is often just that—secret.
Most corvidophiles
would love to spend months conducting intensive grant-supported studies
of crows and ravens, but few of us have the opportunity. With Kirpluk’s
example, most of us can begin our own neighborhood studies of these
fascinating birds.
More to come...
Send in your own comments
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