hyzenthlay76 's review for:

Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds by Bernd Heinrich

4.0

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First of all, this was not a fast read. Detailed documentation of the author's ongoing study of ravens in New England is not always page-turning, but it was nonetheless fascinating. I am not one who needs convincing on the subject of complex intelligence and emotions in non-human animals, but Heinrich's painstaking work using the scientific method is exactly what it takes to make these ideas widely acceptable. The ravens turned out to be more confounding than even he imagined. For every seemingly simple hypothesis he had, his questions were multiplied more than they were answered. The social structure and intricacies of these brainy birds' behaviors is just beginning to be understood. My favorite parts were the description of some of his subjects playing in the snow, and his mention of his wife falling in love with him upon seeing him sharing his oatmeal with his hand-raised raven, Goliath.