The Lawrence Jacobsen Library
Books Received (Primate-Science/PrimateLit)

SONGS, ROARS, AND RITUALS:
COMMUNICATION IN BIRDS, MAMMALS, AND OTHER ANIMALS

Lesley J. Rogers

and

Gisela Kaplan




Harvard University Press 2000




FROM THE DUST JACKET:


"The authors have done a remarkable job in highlighting many of the latest
developments in the study of animal communication, and presenting it all in quite
readable form. They touch on a lot of key issues, some of them profound and
difficult, and deal with them satisfactorily, without getting too abstruse or
turgid, which is quite an achievement. They have also been quite clever in
introducing some of the main actors in the field in an almost personal way, which
can be a big help in getting students interested and ready to explore the
literature themselves."


-Peter Marler, Professor Emeritus and Director of the Center for Animal Behavior,
University of California at Davis




From the calling macaw and the roaring lion to the dancing lyrebird, animals all
around us can be heard and seen communicating with each other and, occasionally,
with us. Why they do so, what their utterances mean, and how much we know about
them are the subject of Songs, Roars, and Rituals. This is a concise and very
readable, yet comprehensive, introduction to the complexities of communication
in animals.


Rogers and Kaplan take us on an exciting journey through communication in the
animal world, offering insights on how animals communicate by sight, sound, smell,
touch, and even electrical signaling. They explore a wide variety of communication
patterns in many species of mammals and birds and discuss in detail how
communication signals evolved, how they are learned, and what song and mimicry
may mean.


An up-to-date account of the science of animal communication, this book also
considers modern concepts (such as that of deceptive communication) and modern
controversies, primarily those surrounding the evolution of human language and the
use of symbolic language by apes. It concludes with a thought-provoking look at
the future of communication between humans and animals.



THE AUTHORS:


Lesley J. Rogers and Gisela Kaplan are both full professors at the University of
New England, Armidale, Australia. Rogers, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of
Science, specializes in neuroscience and animal behavior. Kaplan specializes in
ethology and social science.



CONTENTS:


Preface     ix


One: What is Communication?     1


Two: Signals and Sensory Perception     26


Three: Is Signaling Intentional or Unintentional?     48


Four: Communicating in Birds     70


Five: Communicating in Mammals     100


Six: Learning to Communicate      128


Seven: The Evolution of Communication    150


Eight: Human-Animal Contacts     169


References     185
Index     201




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PRICE: $31.50   ISBN 0-674-00058-7