Product Description

Did you know that chickens have different alarm calls for different predators? This fascinating dictionary covers every aspect of animal behaviour and includes terms from the related fields of ecology, physiology and psychology. Clear, concise entries are backed up by specific examples where appropriate, covering all aspects of behaviour from aggression to courtship, and fully cross-referenced. The author, David McFarland, was formerly head of the Animal Behaviour Research Group at Oxford University, and the editor of the Oxford Companion to Animal Behaviour (1981). Jargon free and informative, this dictionary is an excellent source of reference for students of biology and psychology, and essential reading for naturalists, bird-watchers, and the general reader with an interest in animal behaviour.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19751 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Times Higher Education Supplement, November 17, 2006
Easy to understand and relatively jargon-free.

Review
Easy to understand and relatively jargon-free. (Jessica Flack, Times Higher Education Supplement )

About the Author
In 1974, David McFarland was appointed as University Reader in Animal Behaviour at the Oxford University Department of Zoology. He retired from Oxford in 2000 and took up a two-year appointment as Professor of Biological Robotics at the University of the West of England. He is now President of Casa Cantarilla, an association of teachers in the arts and sciences, located in Lanzarote, Spain. He was the editor of The Oxford Companion to Animal Behaviour (1981).

Customer Reviews

Terrible! Do not buy!
The first thing I looked up in this dictionary was a topic I knew something about (operant conditioning). The definition in this dictionary was inaccurate. I was shocked at how bad it was. I looked up a few more things related to conditioning and learning. Some were ok, some were totally wrong! I now feel I cannot use this book as it may mislead me in areas where I have no experience and so know no better. I am sure some of the content is accurate, but how can you tell without double checking with another source? I was very dissapointed as I thought it sounded a really good book and very useful. It is not. Do not buy.

GREAT FOR STUDENTS
I have found this dictionary extremely helpful while attempting to survive my degree in animal behaviour! Written by McFarland, the book breaks everything down simplistically for you to understand, while managing to keep the info content at a high level (all terms are also in alphabetical order for easy access). The information is correct and informative, and it's helped me get through a lot of assignments!

Useless.
I have been absolutely let down by this book, I bought it to help with my animal behaviour degree and I've found it covers only extremely basic behavioural concepts, and is out of date and at times, completely inaccurate. Some of the terms in there are pointless, and would be found in any dictionary, for example 'colour vision', 'balance', 'flight', 'hatching' and 'hearing' to name just a few. As much as these terms are related to animal behaviour they are a waste of space when simple concepts such as cognitive maps are not mentioned in the book. I've since bought The Dictionary of Zoology which is more useful.