Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds Hardcover – May 11, 1999
by Bernd Heinrich (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 560 ratings
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Print length
400 pages
May 11, 1999
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Beyond croaking, "Nevermore," what exactly do ravens do all day? Bernd Heinrich, biology professor at the University of Vermont and author of Ravens in Winter, has spent more than a decade learning the secrets of these giants of the crow family. He has observed startlingly complex activities among ravens, including strong pair-bonding, use of tools, elaborate vocal communication, and even play. Ravens are just plain smart, and we can see much of ourselves in their behavior. They seem to be affectionate, cranky, joyful, greedy, and competitive, just like us. And in Mind of the Raven, Heinrich makes no bones about attributing emotions and intellect to Corvus corax--just not the kind we humans can understand. He mostly catalogs their behaviors in the manner of a respectful anthropologist, although a few moments of proud papa show through when he describes the pet ravens he hand-raised to adulthood.
Heinrich spends hundreds of loving hours feeding roadkill fragments to endlessly hungry raven chicks, and cold days in blinds watching wild ravens squabble and frolic. He is a passionate fan of his "wolf-birds," a name he gave them when he made the central discovery of the book: that ravens in Yellowstone National Park are dependent on wolves to kill for them. Mind of the Raven offers inspiring insight into both the lives of ravens and the mind of a truly gifted scientist. --Therese Littleton
From Publishers Weekly
In a book that demonstrates the rewards of caring and careful observation of the natural world, Heinrich (Ravens in Winter, etc.), a noted biologist, Guggenheim fellow and National Book Award nominee (for Bumblebee Economics, 1979), explores the question of raven intelligence through observation, experiment and personal experience. Although he has raised many ravens through the years (beginning with a tame pair that shared his apartment at UCLA in the 1960s), Heinrich focuses much of his attention on four nestlings he adopted from the Maine woods near his home. As he describes tending to the demanding babies, chopping up roadkill, cleaning up after them and enduring their noisy calls for food, readers will marvel at how much Heinrich knows and at how much joy he derives from acquiring that knowledge. As the birds mature, Heinrich details how these and other ravens feed, nest, mate, play and establish a society with clear hierarchical levels. At its best, his writing is distinguished by infectious enthusiasm, a lighthearted style and often lyrical descriptions of the natural world. His powers of observation are impressive and his descriptionsAof how a raven puffs its feathers in a dominance display, of how a female calls for food from her mate, of the pecking order at a carcassAare formidably precise. Toward the end of the book, Heinrich addresses the question implied by the title: To what degree can ravens be said to think? His answer: "I suspect that the great gulf or discontinuity that exists between us and all other animals is... ultimately less a matter of consciousness than of culture." Illustrations.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
YA-Heinrich's adventures with ravens are consistently interesting and illuminating, whether he's crouching for hours in cold rain to observe them, hauling animal carcasses into the woods to attract them, or visiting in the homes of their human companions. In 29 readable and richly illustrated chapters, he shares his own experiences with the birds as well as many anecdotes collected by observers from around the globe. He explores "the possibility of conscious choice" in these obviously intelligent but often baffling birds, and believes they owe much of their complexity to the fact that they have evolved in close association with dangerous carnivores-wolves and men. Looking at the common fear that ravens damage crops, Heinrich asserts they have been unjustly accused and persecuted by farmers, and he studies firsthand the relationship of ravens with Eskimo hunters. Sometimes the research just leads him from one mystery to another, but wherever his questions take him, the journey is always fascinating as the many layers of raven psychology are revealed. Perhaps best known on this continent for its "trickster" talents, the raven has been associated in Europe with divination, death, and the Norse god Odin. Heinrich's perspective, that of the scientist, is just as compelling for modern readers and does full justice to this bird's mythical reputation. A fine, entertaining book for general readers, as well as an excellent resource for those seeking meticulously gathered and documented scientific information.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Scientific American
The raven (Corvus corax) is the largest crow, weighing between 1,200 and 1,400 grams (about 2.5 pounds), compared with about 400 for a standard American crow. It has a long-standing reputation as one smart bird. Heinrich, professor of biology at the University of Vermont, has raised raven chicks in his home ("the world's worst roommate," he says), observed ravens in an aviary and spent a great deal of time watching the behavior of wild ravens. He admires the raven's intelligence and describes numerous examples of it. Among the behaviors he or others have seen are flying upside down, doing barrel rolls, using objects to displace gulls from nests and rocks in defending their own nests, and poking holes in the bottom of their nests on a hot day. He inclines to the view that such behaviors are conscious, thinking acts. But it is a cautious conclusion. "Extraordinary cleverness can often be explained by 'simpler' hypotheses," he says. "With ravens I'm no longer always sure of how to distinguish a simple from a more complex hypothesis, how to know whether all of the ravens' behavior is somehow complexly preprogrammed or whether they know or learn to know what they are doing."
From Booklist
The common raven, Corvus corax, is the world's largest crow, measuring from 22 to 27 inches long, and it can be found in much of North America. Heinrich, a University of Vermont biologist and illustrator, is the author of The Trees in My Forest, a homage to the rhythms of life in his 300-acre Maine forest, and Ravens in Winter. He has studied ravens at his Vermont home, at his Maine cabin, and as far away as the Arctic. Here, he writes about this highly intelligent bird's fascinating behavior, the result of his observations, experiments, and experiences (including raising young ravens to adulthood, giving them such names as Fuzz and Houdi). This is not a scholarly work but rather a fond tribute to these feathered creatures. George Cohen
From Kirkus Reviews
Still wild about ravens after all these years, award-winning zoologist Heinrich (Univ. of Vermont; The Trees in My Forest, 1997, etc.) continues his investigations into the big crow's behavior. What makes ravens tick, or, if you prefer, quork? What fires their love of baubles, their delight in tomfoolery? Why have so many cultures portrayed the birds as creators and destroyers, prophets and clowns and tricksters? Are they sentient? Do they scheme? To what use do they put that sizable brain? Heinrich has shared a lot of forest time with ravens over the years, trying to gain perspective on these questions. He has come away with an admittedly incomplete if anecdotally rich picture of the bird, one that bears up the historical image of a canny creature that trumps our expectations. Here is a bird that willingly incubates eggs that are obviously not its own, the smart guy falling for the oldest parasitic trick in the book. Yet here is also a bird that can sit down at the table, to a nicely fatted calf, say, with wolves and golden eagles, animals that are known to serve raven when the calves are scarce. Heinrich freely shares the glimmerings of real understanding he has mademuch the same way as ravens share food finds (in apparent, and typical, anti-evolutionary spirit)including the exploratory/carnal fixation the raven has with bijouterie, and how many ravens it takes to fish the Yellowstone River for cutthroat. But when it comes to measuring the ravens' intelligence, Heinrich suggests it would be folly to do so in human terms: We are, in effect, culturally incomparable, and for all the seeming pleasure we take in one another's company, how the bird goes about interpreting the world remains closed to us, enigmatic and contradictory as ever. Left unsaid in this learned study is how many hours Heinrich sat motionless in the deep-space cold of a Maine winter to gather these observations. There lies the gauge of his enterprise, understanding, and passion. (illustrations, not seen) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
“An amazing book...a scientist and naturalist of the first rank...a nature writer of uncommon talent.” -- Edward O. Wilson
“Heinrich has a rare ability to embed dense scientific explications within graceful, lightfooted nature writing.” -- David Quammen, New York Times Book Review
“Bernd Heinrich is one of the finest living examples of that strange hybrid: the science writer.” -- Los Angeles Times Book Review
“A compelling exploration of the nature of consciousness with an unremittingly delicious jaunt in the woods.... a grand storyteller.” -- Baltimore Sun
“Heinrich brings alive the romance of field research...A splendid book.” -- Library Journal (starred review)
About the Author
The author of numerous bestselling and award-winning books, Bernd Heinrich is a professor of biology at the University of Vermont. He divides his time between Vermont and the forests of western Maine.
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Top reviews from the United States
Jehoshephat
3.0 out of 5 stars for fans of the author
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2018
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I eventually just put this back in the "library" of my Kindle, and would recommend that anyone interested (and patient) get a hard copy, since it's easier to skip around with those. I bought the book because I was (and am) interested in ravens and their lives, but the author seems more interested in writing about how he learned about ravens and the various techniques and ruses he used to do so. As with the recent (as I write) book about the ravens at the Tower of London, the author is constantly putting himself between the birds and the reader, and I finally just got too frustrated by being expected to admire him rather than them. So I shelved the book and will try it again, off and on, trying to find the sections that concentrate on the birds and not the author.
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D. Cavan
5.0 out of 5 stars Raven Encounters
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2015
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I am now fascinated by these amazing birds. The most common bird in Southern California where I live is the crow, and they are everywhere. I read this book with the intent to learn the difference between crows and ravens. I did a little research and found that ravens are common in SoCal, and also listened to sound clips of their calls on the internet. Since finishing this book with great enjoyment I have been looking at our black feathered friends much more carefully, but until today could not positively identify any ravens among the crows.
One morning I arrived at work early, and as I approached the entry door I heard a distinctive soft croaking, which was most definitely a male raven. He was sitting alone in a tree just a few feet above the door. I stopped underneath and looked up at him and made a few clicking noises. He tilted his head and looked down at me with an eye that was rimmed in white. He seemed relaxed and stayed right where he was, the opposite of how a crow would behave at that close a range. It was an exciting moment for me, maybe not so much for him, who knows?
This raven it turns out has a mate, and they are nesting in a tall tree nearby. I have also seen the female and heard her 'knocking' call. I can hear them both calling throughout the day when I go outside. Today I as I was leaving work I was watching them carry sticks to the nest, playing and jostling each other as they flew together, when I saw something that truly amazed me, and is seems to be an example of the zany antics of ravens that Prof Heinrich describes. One of them began flying in a tight 'U' shaped arc, starting about 20 ft above the ground. It would swoop straight down, then level off just before hitting the ground, skim extremely close to the ground, and then shoot straight upward, flip and roll acrobatically at the top, and repeat in the other direction. It cavorted like a pendulum for two or three minutes. The flying skill needed to execute these linked maneuvers over and over was hard to believe. It is fitting that this bird is nesting above the parking lot of the General Atomics Aeronautical building where the first Predator A aircraft were built.
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SS
1.0 out of 5 stars No Answers, Just Questions
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2020
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We are both retired professors, so we are familiar with research methodology and the scientific method. Unless you want to follow a day-by-day, and sometimes an hour-by-hour, account of the author and his activities, this book will have no interest for you. We had hoped to learn something about ravens, but the book did not provide any specific information, other than how to cut up and freeze road kill for your pet raven and that ravens can poop a stream up to four feet long . . . yes, the book is graphic and gross. The only thing the author offers, over and over again, is that the birds' activities could mean this, or then again, they could mean that; the birds might be thinking this, or then again, the birds might be thinking that. We had hoped the author would at least posit an educated guess, but we were sorely disappointed! After reading the book, we knew nothing more about ravens!
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Masha
5.0 out of 5 stars I Learned More Than I Imagined I Could!
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2016
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A wonderful book for anyone who loves corvids, or is just interested in the smartest birds on the planet (along with parrots and macaws). Yes, it's true, they are as smart as chimps, which makes them smarter than some humans I've met. I've lived among crows and ravens my entire life. I will always remember watching two ravens battle a bald eagle in the air above my head. I love jamming on my HAPI drum with the local crows, who sing along. But I learned more than I ever thought I could by reading this book. Well done! Read it, and then find some corvids to hang out with.
58 people found this helpful
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RayB
4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Read!
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2016
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An interesting winter's read, I did enjoy this book.
Anyone interested in animal intelligence and behavior will no doubt enjoy reading this.
The author is scientifically methodical in his methods and research, and reports what he's learned and observed in a lucid and enjoyable style.
Having been best friends with a wild bird for nineteen years, I was drawn to this book by its title. (A portrait of that remarkable and beloved friend hangs in a place of honor, in my living room today. RIP Bernie.)
RayB
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Susan M.
5.0 out of 5 stars The quintessential book about raven behavior
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2018
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I love this book! I'm an avid raven observer and this book is my go-to reference for context of what I am seeing in the wild. It's packed with incredible detail and descriptions of how Heinrich tests his different theories about raven behavior, mostly in the Maine woods. He even becomes a "raven parent" to find out about what are acquired and what are instinctual raven behaviors. If you are interested in animal behavior and want to know how an observational and experimental behavioral biologist works, you'll enjoy this book. It's also full of Heinrich's own interactions and relationships with various raven friends, and other avian researchers around the world. I've ordered copies for friends who are interested in ravens because I can't bear to be without my Mind of the Raven within reach! I've read other Heinrich books, which I've also really enjoyed, including The Snoring Bird, Ravens in Winter, One Man's Owl (also LOVED that one - but I'm also an owl observer!), The Homing Instinct, and Winter World. If you like to know the story behind the scenes of figuring out the meaning of animal behavior, this book is for you!
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Woden
5.0 out of 5 stars So Good I Had To Buy Two
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2019
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I first bought a copy of this in paperback a few years ago, but I lent it to a friend last year. As it doesn't look like there's any danger of it being returned soon, I treated myself to the hardback as, having recently started spending some time working with a young raven, I fancy giving it another read.
This is packed with facts, research and studies on ravens. Despite being a university professor and having published many scientific papers, Mind of the Raven is an accessible and enjoyable read for the more intellectually-challenged among us (i.e. me). I learned a lot about ravens and gained a much deeper understanding of their behaviour and love for the mysterious raven from this book.
A fascinating book about fascinating birds.
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Julia W. T.
5.0 out of 5 stars Animal Behaviour - what and why
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2019
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A wonderful, amazing book, originally recommended by the author of another book on Ravens - Chris, the Raven Master at the Tower of London. If you love bird-watching and want to know why our feathered companions behave the way they do, this book tells you some of the answers with huge love and respect for animals that Heinrich has studied for decades. Strangely, the book helps you to understand human behaviour too. His discovery of the symbiotic link between Ravens and Wolves or surrogate wolves (dogs, bears and humans) is a fabulous piece of research. Everything is connected, and as a conservationist, it gives me great hope that we can re-educate people to open their eyes and start acknowledging these connections, instead of micro-managing a planet we hardly know. The world is a much more delicately interconnected and deeply interwoven place than we can see at a glance. It's time we all stopped and stared more.
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electricitywoman
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and beautifull written
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2018
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Bought as a gift... Until I unwrapped it and read a few sentences to see if the gift I'd gotten was a good one. Two chapters later, which I burned through just standing in the middle of the room, completely oblivious to my surroundings. Instead of bringing the sunscreen like I was supposed to, I went back outside and gave it to my partner (several weeks before her actual birthday) because I was so ridiculously excited for her to read it.
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Jake Lawrance
4.0 out of 5 stars Never thought I'd read a book about Ravens..
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2017
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If you enjoy nature and animal behaviour or find it even mildly interesting - this is probably for you.
I only read this having after read 'Why We Run' by Bernd Heinrich.
He seems to make everything captivating by talking about science, being descriptive and unsolves puzzles as the book goes on. It's like you're almost him and experiencing what he has done first hand.
Bernd is an interesting man himself, far from average and that results in interesting unique reads.
Would recommend him as an author despite reading only 2 of his books.
Will most likely read some more from him.
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Lancs Peter
4.0 out of 5 stars You must be interested in birds, especially ravens. otherwise it could be boring.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2019
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Fascinating detail about birds's minds by a dedicated specialist. `Rather poor illustrations; they seem to be copies of copies of copies and the black birds merge into the backgrounds, losing a lot of detail,
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