Curious Naturalists

by Niko Tinbergen

Enthusiastic and informal accounts of the exciting discoveries and fascinating observations made by naturalists in the study of the behavior of animals in their natural surroundings

Genres: Science, Nature, Nonfiction, Biology, Animals, Biography, Natural History

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Nikolaas "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.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

You probably have to be a biologist to read this book as it is mainly about ethology experiments, but if you are you will find in interesting to read about the simplistic but effective field techniques used by the author and his cohorts to study animal behavior.

[Nico-Votte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro molto interessante.
Forse non molto scorrevole e alla lunga un po' ripetitivo.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read chapters out of this book for a course in animal behavior. It was oddly intriguing to learn about black-headed gulls.

For instance, the descriptions about their aggressive posturing. How a bird will peck at the ground (without actually touching it) which seems to be a redirection of two opposing instincts -- fear of another bird (flee!) and aggression towards the other bird (attack!). So instead, sometimes these birds will just peck at the ground. (These birds should have their own Dr. Phil)

Then there's the case of a stuffed bird they put out there with the wild birds (which always led to the birds attacking it). One male came to attack it until it fell over. Once it was tipped over, it resembled a female begging for food with her outstretched bill. So he stopped attacking it and fed it a regurgitated worm. I can't tell you how amusing that picture was.

God, I'm such a geek.

[Hailey R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a pleasant surprise. I expected this book to be very boring and possibly hard to understand, but that wasn't the case. The book has plenty of diagrams and pictures of the experiments and the animals themselves. I am a visual learner, so the diagrams help me understand how the experiments were set up. The wording of the book itself isn't very complex, and that makes it easy to understand. When describing the behavior of animals, the author uses colorful language to help visualize and express how the behavior is, personifying the animals. However I did find some of the experiments very unfortunate for the animals, the book does help break down animal behavior well. It gave me a better appreciation for the animals and how they survive. I particularly the portion of the book that talked about the adaptations of certain animals, perfectly conveying how genetic mutations work to benefit or be to the detriment of survival. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the biology field or people who are curious about animals and the kind of experiments conducted back in the day.

[Nelleke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Als een ecoloog is dit een boek dat je ooit gelezen zou moeten hebben. Veldstudies die zolang duren dat je het niet voor kan stellen. Hele zomers besteed Niko Tinbergen aan het bestuderen van bijenwolven en meeuwen. Eindeloos wachten en observeren en dan ook nog tot conclusies komen. Nu moet je daarvoor met pensioen zijn en dan nog is het de vraag of het nog mogelijk is met de extinctiegolf die gaande is. Rouwmantels als proefobject, dat is nu compleet ondenkbaar (de soort is uitgestorven in Nederland).

[Erik Wirfs-Brock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming account of various experiments done in the field by the author and his colleagues in the field with various species of birds and insects. A little dry, and maybe a little disjointed-but still a fun account of how interesting the natural world is and how one's thinking can be opened up by simple curiosity.

[Nika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for any curious naturalist! It has descriptions of some quite cruel experiments, but it was written in times, when people knew close to nothing about animal behavior. So I give it a five to promote it, although for me personally it’s a stable four

[Riccardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

What means to be an ethologists? what is cool about it? what is fascinating?
Tinbergen just show us how beautiful could be to observe nature and study animals and plants.

[S Daly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really old book that talks about experiments on insects and observation on birds. Might have sensitive content.

[fernywerny_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty curious

[Sam Darmstadt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really fascinating animal behaviors and discoveries (does get a little bogged-down in the details of some experiments)

[Anastassia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best books I have ever read. It had me squealing in excitement every time I read something super cool I did not previously know about animal behaviour. This is the BEST combination of engaging story telling and detailed overview of experimental procedure I have ever come across. Tinbergen provides the reader with enough scientific detail to engage those with a background in ecology/biology in a fashion that is not at all dry. This enthusiastic account of field work and the resulting findings is immensely enjoyable to the scientist and layperson alike!

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I subscribed to Natural History, the magazine of The Museum of Natural History, throughout much of high school, letting the subscription lapse only upon matriculation into college, my money now being committed to that enterprise. While a member, I received several books for renewal orders, Curious Naturalists being one of them.

[Robert Hult · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent study of aspects of avian behavior in different species notoften studied.

[Vern · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful story, very similar "King Solomon's Ring" by his friend and colleague, Konrad Lorenz.

I'll read some of Niko's works: I've much to learn....

[Alexandr Iscenco · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Curious Naturalists" is quite an interesting book about certain moments in the life of its author, who studies animal behaviour. Basically, his work can be considered an introtudcion to ethology - field of science dedicated to animal behaviour and instincts.
I enjoyed reading this book, especially the chapters about instincts, "memory", and "decision-making" of insects, such as Philanthus, Ammophila, and Bombus. The stories are a bit disconnected, therefore there is no single narrative. Still, they are rich with curious observations about the natural world that motivate the reader to do their exploration by him-/herself.