Bird Bonds: Sex, mate choice and cognition in Australian native birds

by Gisela Kaplan Pan Macmillan

RRP $34.99

IF YOU’VE EVER found yourself wondering about birds and their relationships and sex lives, Gisela Kaplan’s Bird Bonds is the book for you.

Animal relationships can be technical stuff, but Kaplan, a field biologist and Professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of New England, does a striking job of creating empathy with birds.

Bird Bonds is based on her original research and could have been dry, but at times it feels more like a work of fiction, with extra-marital affairs, spoilt children

and the heartbreaking effects of the death of a partner.

Kaplan writes that she has taken the “risky step” of comparing birds to humans. It’s a comparison that we rarely hear. After all, humans have long believed that our behaviours, emotions and social connections are unique.

But Kaplan’s writing is seductive, and she takes the reader through the trials of finding a compatible mate, house-hunting and the business of parenthood. She also explores research on same-sex affiliations and birds who don’t mate.

As she says: “What is sometimes overlooked is that on matters of partner choices and matters of sex, humans and birds may have so much more in common than was once believed, despite millions of years of evolution”.

She controversially proposes that attachments between birds aren’t just about reproduction – they can also be about cooperation, mutual support, and commitment. With diagrams and beautiful images, the science is easy to follow; you don’t need to be an expert to enjoy. And for those who may be familiar with the habits of some birds through personal observation, this book provides an interesting insight into an array of species.

After finishing Bird Bonds, you can’t help but ponder: while physically we might be worlds apart, just how similar are we to our feathered counterparts?