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Title details for The Homing Instinct by Bernd Heinrich - Available

The Homing Instinct

Meaning and Mystery in Animal Migration

by Bernd Heinrich
Rick Adamson
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

A captivating exploration of the homing instinct in animals, and what it means for human happiness and survival, from the celebrated naturalist and author of Mind of the Raven, Why We Run, and Life Everlasting.
Acclaimed scientist and author Bernd Heinrich has returned every year since boyhood to a beloved patch of western Maine woods. What is the biology in humans of this deep-in-the-bones pull toward a particular place, and how is it related to animal homing?
Heinrich explores the fascinating science chipping away at the mysteries of animal migration: how geese imprint true visual landscape memory; how scent trails are used by many creatures, from fish to insects to amphibians, to pinpoint their home if they are displaced from it; and how the tiniest of songbirds are equipped for solar and magnetic orienteering over vast distances. Most movingly, Heinrich chronicles the spring return of a pair of sandhill cranes to their home pond in the Alaska tundra.
With his trademark “marvelous, mind-altering” prose (Los Angeles Times), he portrays the unmistakable signs of deep psychological emotion in the newly arrived birds—and reminds us that to discount our own emotions toward home is to ignore biology itself.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 18, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780358243984
      • File size: 320522 KB
      • Duration: 11:07:45

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      To the joy of audiobook listeners and naturalists, Rick Adamson returns to narrate Bernd Heinrich's latest work. The program is filled with descriptions of how various species find, use, and return to their homes. The content moves from story to story and is well suited to a wide audience. Adamson's pacing keeps listeners engaged as he delivers scientific details, along with personal interludes. His varied inflections pull listeners into the natural world and the curious mind of Heinrich. Adamson also shines in delivering authentic-sounding conversations, particularly in the closing story about the human pull to return to one's juvenile home. S.K.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 17, 2014
      Retired biologist Heinrich (Life Everlasting) combines a scientific examination of animal migration with elements of journalism and memoir to produce a thoroughly engaging book. To open, he discusses the amazing ability of a diverse array of animals to migrate long distances and to return to their home breeding grounds: sandhill cranes annually to a small pond in Alaska after overwintering in Mexico, albatrosses to a speck of land in the middle of the ocean to breed after being away for years at a stretch, or salmon to their natal stream. Heinrich comfortably recognizes that there is a great deal that scientists have yet to discover and poses intriguing unanswered questions. The highlight of Heinrich’s second section is his recounting of an expedition he made to a pristine rainforest in the mountains of Suriname. In the final section he focuses on himself and his home in Maine, writing beautifully of living and hunting on his land as well as the myriad ways he has come to know the fauna and flora with which he shares his property. Although the books elements do not fit seamlessly, the work is strong enough to yield a holistic picture of various aspects of this important natural phenomenon. Agent: Sandra Dijkstra, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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