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Young Readers Nature Library #11
Animal Behavior
Book 23 of the Life Nature Library.
200 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1965
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About the author
Niko Tinbergen
28 books28 followersNikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen FRS[1] (/ˈtɪnbɜːrɡən/ TIN-bur-gən, Dutch: [ˈnikoː(laːs) ˈtɪmbɛrɣə(n)]; 15 April 1907 – 21 December 1988) was a Dutch biologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz[7][8][9][10][11] for their discoveries concerning the organization and elicitation of individual and social behavior patterns in animals. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern ethology, the study of animal behavior.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 31, 2022
Animal Behaviour by Niko Tinbergen was written as part of the excellent Time-Life series of books in 1968 (published a year later in the UK), and is an overview of studies of animal behaviour at that time. This edition is from 1977. It mentions the three original pioneering scientists Charles Darwin, J. Henri Fabre and Ivan Pavlov, but mostly describes the experiments and work of Tinbergen himself (herring gulls), plus his contemporaries, and colleagues such as Konrad Lorenz (geese), Harold Skinner (rats), Harry F. Harlow (rhesus monkeys) and so on. It perhaps needs pointing out that these famous experiments, plus those on octopuses, kittens and others are not commensurate with current ideas about animal welfare. However, much of the knowledge presented here also derives from studying animals in their natural habitats.
As part of the “Young Readers Library”, this slightly oversize book is aimed at teenagers, or capable younger readers, so it is written in straightforward English. The definitions do not use specialist academic terminology with specific restricted meanings, which would be later used by readers who go on to study ethology (the study of animal behaviour). So for instance, in one chapter Tinbergen talks about the “Signs that Animals Respond to”, and in another “The Machinery that Makes Things Go”, rather than using terms such as causation, ontogeny, or proximate mechanisms. He also goes into whether behaviour is born or learned in animals, and the benefit in living together in order to survive. There is ample detail, but all the studies and conclusions are clearly expressed, and easy to understand for a general reader.
The Dutch biologist and ornithologist Nikolaas Tinbergen is now regarded as one of the founders of modern ethology. In 1973 he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, sharing it with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz. He had moved to England after the Second World War and worked at Oxford University. His graduate students included the important biologists Richard Dawkins and Desmond Morris.
Niko Tinbergen’s seminal 1951 work “The Study of Instinct” is available on kindle and kobo. It summarises Tinbergen’s ideas on innate behavioural reactions in animals, and the adaptiveness and evolutionary aspects of these behaviours. It is regarded as a foundation work in the field of behavioural science.
The text of this book Animal Behaviour is a good introduction to the subject. However it does not meet current production values, and most young people would probably dislike this aspect. Although there are many illustrations, drawings and diagrams, only a few of the photographs are in colour, the majority being monochrome. Also, the prints of drawings tend to use the old-fashioned “colour block” method, where there is just one bold background colour to the black line drawing. For these reasons I have to rate this book at 2 stars, as the information can now be found better presented elsewhere.
As part of the “Young Readers Library”, this slightly oversize book is aimed at teenagers, or capable younger readers, so it is written in straightforward English. The definitions do not use specialist academic terminology with specific restricted meanings, which would be later used by readers who go on to study ethology (the study of animal behaviour). So for instance, in one chapter Tinbergen talks about the “Signs that Animals Respond to”, and in another “The Machinery that Makes Things Go”, rather than using terms such as causation, ontogeny, or proximate mechanisms. He also goes into whether behaviour is born or learned in animals, and the benefit in living together in order to survive. There is ample detail, but all the studies and conclusions are clearly expressed, and easy to understand for a general reader.
The Dutch biologist and ornithologist Nikolaas Tinbergen is now regarded as one of the founders of modern ethology. In 1973 he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, sharing it with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz. He had moved to England after the Second World War and worked at Oxford University. His graduate students included the important biologists Richard Dawkins and Desmond Morris.
Niko Tinbergen’s seminal 1951 work “The Study of Instinct” is available on kindle and kobo. It summarises Tinbergen’s ideas on innate behavioural reactions in animals, and the adaptiveness and evolutionary aspects of these behaviours. It is regarded as a foundation work in the field of behavioural science.
The text of this book Animal Behaviour is a good introduction to the subject. However it does not meet current production values, and most young people would probably dislike this aspect. Although there are many illustrations, drawings and diagrams, only a few of the photographs are in colour, the majority being monochrome. Also, the prints of drawings tend to use the old-fashioned “colour block” method, where there is just one bold background colour to the black line drawing. For these reasons I have to rate this book at 2 stars, as the information can now be found better presented elsewhere.
April 2, 2020
Amazing informative book by a noble prize winner. This book opens your mind to how animals behave and interact
November 30, 2025
silmaringi arendav, väga põnev ja lihtsalt tore
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews