Together with Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen is generally acknowledged as the founder of the young science of ethology. Professor Tinbergen has spent a lifetime of research exploring the behavior of many types of animals in their natural environments, and has founded centers of worldwide renown for research and teaching in the behavioral sciences, first in his native Holland and later at Oxford. His influence extends far beyond the borders of Europe and of zoology proper, and he has contributed substantially to international and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Tinbergen's work has been characterized by many as a "breath of fresh air" in fields that were in danger of losing touch with nature and of becoming bogged down in theory. He has tirelessly worked for the use of scientific methods in the study of human behavior, both normal and abnormal. Without shying away from quantification and measurement, he has made his main contribution in what Sir Peter Medawar calls "creative observation" and in the design of meaningful experiments, even in the seemingly chaotic and continuously varying conditions of the natural habitat.
In following him in what Tinbergen likes to call his seemingly aimless wanderings, the reader will catch a unique glimpse into the workshop of ethology. Even when reporting on sophisticated experiments, or when developing new theoretical concepts and arguments, Tinbergen writes simply, lucidly, and precisely. The present volume spans forty years of pioneer investigation and includes selections on the behavior of gulls; on the homing, landmark preference, and prey findings of the digger wasp; on the food hoarding of foxes; and on creatures living scattered as a defense against predators.
These classic original studies will fascinate the increasing number of readers interested in the topical problems of animals and human behavior.
Together with Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen is generally acknowledged as the founder of the young science of ethology. Professor Tinbergen has spent a lifetime of research exploring the behavior of many types of animals in their natural environments, and has founded centers of worldwide renown for research and teaching in the behavioral sciences, first in his native Holland and later at Oxford. His influence extends far beyond the borders of Europe and of zoology proper, and he has contributed substantially to international and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Tinbergen's work has been characterized by many as a "breath of fresh air" in fields that were in danger of losing touch with nature and of becoming bogged down in theory. He has tirelessly worked for the use of scientific methods in the study of human behavior, both normal and abnormal. Without shying away from quantification and measurement, he has made his main contribution in what Sir Peter Medawar calls "creative observation" and in the design of meaningful experiments, even in the seemingly chaotic and continuously varying conditions of the natural habitat.
In following him in what Tinbergen likes to call his seemingly aimless wanderings, the reader will catch a unique glimpse into the workshop of ethology. Even when reporting on sophisticated experiments, or when developing new theoretical concepts and arguments, Tinbergen writes simply, lucidly, and precisely. The present volume spans forty years of pioneer investigation and includes selections on the behavior of gulls; on the homing, landmark preference, and prey findings of the digger wasp; on the food hoarding of foxes; and on creatures living scattered as a defense against predators.
These classic original studies will fascinate the increasing number of readers interested in the topical problems of animals and human behavior.
Foreword by Sir Peter Medawar, FRS Introduction References to the Original Papers Section I: Observational and Interpretative Studies Author's notes 1. Comparative studies of the behaviour of gulls Section II: Field Experiments Author's notes 2. The homing of Philanthus triangulum 3. How Philanthus finds its prey 4. Landmark preference by homing Philanthus 5. The behaviour of the Grayling butterfly 6. Egg shell removal by the Black-headed Gull. I 7. Egg shell removal by the Black-headed Gull. II 8. Egg shell removal by the Black-headed Gull. III 9. Food hoarding by the Fox 10. Living scattered as a defence against predation
Niko Tinbergen is one of the grand masters of ethology, and the papers published here are among its most important documents: they are a source-book for students of animal behaviour and will give the historian of ideas an insight into the early days of one of the most influential movements in modern science. -- Sir Peter Medawar
Nikolaas Tinbergen was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and a Professor of Animal Behaviour and Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. He was co-recipient of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. P. B. Medawar, an Oxford-trained biologist, received the 1960 Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology.
Surely one of the most striking modern examples of the power of the
Seeing Eye.
*American Scientist*
Niko Tinbergen is one of the founders and grandmasters of ethology,
and the papers published here are among its most important
documents. They are a source book for students of animal behavior
and will give the historian of ideas an insight into one of the
most influential movements in modern science.
*New York Review of Books*
Ethology is a young science, and there are still many questions to
be debated about its basic theories and, of course, an almost
unlimited field of fascinating new types of animal behavior to be
observed. These two volumes of essays by one of the prime movers of
the subject will remain part of the essential source material for
many years to come.
*New York Times*
The publication of the Tinbergen papers is a service to a large and
growing audience of scholars. These articles are not only of
considerable historical value but to a remarkable extent retain
their usefulness as a primary source of data and ideas.
*Edward O. Wilson, Professor of Zoology, Harvard University*
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