The Condor 101:455-459 0 The Cooper Ornithological Society 1999

BOOK REVIEWS

Social Influences on Vocal Development.- Why read the rest of the book if the main themes Charles T Snowdon and Mat-tine Hausberger, eds. are already discussed in the introduction? I believe it 1997. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. is worth it, not only to check the statements of the ix + 351 pp. ISBN 0521 49526 1. $95.00 (cloth). editors. All the articles are fine reviews of a given At least in certain aspects, this book is a referee’s field, written by experts. Doug Nelson provides a very dream: not only do the editors provide short summaries good account of the state of the art in song learning in their introduction of the 16 articles making up this theory, and as I expressed above, I fully agree with his volume, they also inform the reader about the main claim that the two stage nature of song learning is still general conclusions that can be drawn from those ar- not fully understood or accepted by other researchers ticles. According to Snowdon and Hausberger, there of the field. are five central themes that arc treated in almost all Luis Baptista and Sandra Gaunt provide a very com- contributions. The first and main theme is the claim petent review on social interaction and vocal devel- that vocal learning has more aspects than learning to opment in birds. As ever, there is a wealth of findings produce sounds. It is also necessary to learn how to from the lab and from the field included in their re- use and comprehend vocalizations. This is indeed an view. They also discuss Nelson’s theses. Although the important point that has in the past been neglected to general idea which I get from this discussion is that a certain degree. The articles in this book show that Baptista and Gaunt do not really accept Nelson’s view, there are examples for the importance of learning the I see some sort of convergence. use of vocalizations from birds over dolphins and non- West, King, and Freeberg provide an article on human primates to humans. “building a social agenda for the study of bird song,” The second theme emerging from the book chapters which is a little bit wordy but reviews nicely the pub- is the influence of social input on the stages of devel- lished and some unpublished findings of the authors. opment. The main point behind that, in my opinion, is Their main point is that not only do vocalizations have the everlasting debate of the song-learning people con- to be learned, but also their proper use. Payne and cerning sensitive periods and variability of their limits. Payne review their work on Indigo Buntings (Passer- The article of Doug Nelson clearly points to one pos- ine cyanea) and village indigo-birds (Vi&m chalybea- sible explanation of the debate, the fact that many re- ta). They underline that “social interaction of mature searchers of bird song still have not fully understood birds is a usual condition of song learning in the field,” (or accepted) the idea of a two stage process in song and that song learning usually takes place during the learning. Unfortunately, it seems as if the editors and first breeding season and on the breeding area. also the other authors dealing with that issue did not The article of Richard Zann reviews his excellent really understand what Nelson suggests. At least for field studies. He successfully reconciles data from the the editors, this can be concluded from their statement lab with those from the field, and ends with a sche- (p. 4) “Although Nelson argues that this selective pro- matic representation of song learning options in Zebra cess may account for reports of delayed learning in Finches, which really convinces me and should also closed-end learners, several authors in this volume de- satisfy both Nelson, and Baptista and Gaunt. In the fend the possibility of later learning under social influ- next chapter on avian research, Eleanor Brown and ences.” This shows that the editors do no accept the Susan Farabaugh tell the interesting and not so well idea that “action based learning” with a selection pro- known story of song sharing in Australian Magpies cess is also learning. The outcome of acquisition learn- (Gymnorhina tibicen), American Crows (Corvus bru- ing during the sensitive period and action based learn- chyrhynchos), and the Budgerigar (Melopsittacus un- ing thereafter are not necessarily different; this is prob- dulutus). They state that in those highly social species ably the reason why it is so difficult to swallow the the ability to learn vocalizations continues throughout idea that song learning (like other imprinting-like life because the associations with other group members learning processes) occurs in two stages. change continually, and the vocalizations have to be The editors continue their evaluation of the book adapted to the changed social conditions. This is an chapters by stating the importance of investigations of attractive idea, and some of the other chapters in the the nature of social influences on song learning. There book indicate that the same mechanisms may work, to may be different levels of social influences, reaching a lesser degree.- in “less social” birds like Zebra Finch- from attention and multimodal stimulation to rein- es. Martine Hausberger reviews her research on song forcement or real interaction, where the learner must learning in starlings. Besides other points, she stresses “be viewed as an actor and not as a passive re- that the song repertoire of starlings contains elements ceiver. . .” which show the personal identity of the starlings, and Finally, the editors point to the idea that the ability others which belong to the group identity. Finally, Ir- of vocal learning may be an indicator of social behav- ene Pepperberg provides a link between avian and pri- ior. They believe that vocal plasticity may be correlat- mate research by discussing how far the “social mod- ed, for example, with high mobility of a given species. eling theory” can be applied to her own work and to I do not know whether enough experimental backing that of colleagues working with human primates. could be found for this idea, but it is an interesting Although The Condor is mainly an ornithologist’s one. journal, the reader should not skip the remaining arti-

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cles which provide very interesting “comparative” from 27 authors. Those cover an enormous range of data from other species. McGowan and Reiss report topics from avian immune responses at the cellular lev- about a very promising and interesting attempt to study el to community-wide patterns of parasitism. In be- vocal learning in bottlenose dolphins, ‘Tyack and Say- tween, the reader is treated to thorough reviews of the igh provide an overview of vocal learning studies in role of parasites in sexual selection, their effect on life cetaceans, with the main emphasis on the so called histories and population ecology, and phylogenetic an- “signature whistle.” Snowdon, Elowson and Rousch alyses of host-parasite cocvolution. The book’s title is in their report on “Social influences on vocal devcl- misleading in that only a few chapters specifically ad- opment in New World Primates” conclude that the dis- dress coevolution between hosts and parasites or nat- agreements which still exist between the research on ural selection on hosts caused by parasites. Over 40% vocal development in birds and primates is mainly due of the book is devoted to surveys of parasite faunas to the fact that it was directed towards song production on birds, natural history of parasites and pathogens, or rather than ontogeny of usage. Seyfarth and Cheney methods of studying avian parasites. Those chapters underscore the importance of examining both by pro- may turn out to be the most useful in the long term, viding excellent examples in their review of vocal dc- as they will serve as an excellent reference for virtually velopment in nonhuman primates, whereas Locke and anyone interested in bird parasites. The more theoret- Snow bridge the gap between vocal learning in human ical chapters are likely to become rather quickly out- and nonhuman primates. Goldin-Meadow provides a dated as research on parasitism of birds proliferates. very interesting article on “The resilience of language The emphasis throughout is on avian micro- and ma- in humans” which describes her very interesting stud- croparasites, although thcrc is one interesting chapter ies on gesture systems of deaf children and tries to put by Payne-seemingly out of place in this book-on it into a framework of ethological definitions. brood parasitism in birds. There is not an exclusive The two remaining articles describe psychological focus on birds, despite the title’s implication. For ex- observations concerning the role of interaction in the ample, Simberloff and Moore’s chapter on community development of communication and language. As the ecology of parasites and their hosts has relatively little other articles before, the importance of language usage mention of birds and uses numerous nonavian exam- learning is stressed here again. ples. To summarize, I believe that this book is an impor- Clayton and Moore’s book suffers from the usual tant one because it has a matter of concern, which has problems that afflict edited volumes, principally wide as yet not been adequately treated. Moreover, it is a variance in chapter quality and some redundancy useful collection of reviews which is a must for every- among chapters. The latter is less pronounced here one working in the field. University and college li- than in other edited books, reflecting fine editing by braries should have it because I believe it is an im- Clayton and Moore. Some chapters are excellent syn- portant milestone towards a unified theory of vocal theses of current thought, while a few are rather for- learning, even if at this stage it seems still quite a gcttablc rehashings of material of mostly the author(s) distance away.-HANS-JOACHIM BISCHOE Univ- that had been published elsewhere. One chapter I ersitat Bielefeld, Lehrstuhl fur Verhaltensforschung, found particularly interesting was Hillgarth and Wing- Morgenbreede 45, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany, e-mail: field’s review of the endocrine basis of parasite-medi- [email protected] ated mate choice, focusing on the idea that males may face a tradeoff between high levels of immunocom- Host-Parasite Evolution: General Principles and pctencc or high levels of testosterone. Males may need Avian Models.-Edited by Dale H. Clayton and Jan- high testosterone to produce the secondary sexual ice Moore. 1997. Oxford University Press, Oxford. xiii characters important in mate choice, but production of + 473 pp. ISBN 0-19-854893-l (cloth), O-19-854892- tcstostcrone appears to suppress the immune system. 3 (paper). $105.00 (cloth), $45.00 (paper). The interaction among testosterone, immune function, Ornithologists now realize that parasites affect vir- and mate choice is complex, and Hillgarth and Wing- tually every aspect of bird biology. Parasitism may field do a nice job of outlining research needs in that often have greater consequences than predation or area. Refreshingly, the well worn Hamilton and Zuk competition, and we have begun to document many handicap hypothesis for mate choice is not prominent examples of host-parasite coevolution from cellular to in the book, being only briefly reviewed in one chapter population levels. This volume, in some respects a suc- (and cited in only three chapters), although one could cessor to Loye and Zuk’s (1991) similar book on avian perhaps argue that this is an unfortunate omission in a parasitism (Bird-parasite interactions: ecology, evo- volume of this all-inclusive scope. Other chapters of lution and hehaviour, Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford), special note included Moller’s review of how parasites summarizes much of the current work on bird parasites affect host life history, Nuttall’s primer on viruses, and pathogens and covers more ground than Loye and bacteria, and fungi of birds, and Clayton and Walther’s Zuk. Clayton and Moore’s collection of papers will guide to collecting arthropod parasites from birds. serve as the definitive reference for ornithologists in- M@ller demonstrates the profound effect of parasitism terested in parasites. at virtually all stages of a host’s lift history, and one One of the few scientific legacies of the 1994 Intcr- comes away from his review ready to reject any man- national Ornithological Congress, this book had its or- uscript or grant proposal on avian population biology igins at a symposium on host-parasite evolution at the that does not account for cffccts of parasites or path- Vienna conference. The book has considerably more ogens. Nuttall provides an accessible entry into the to it than the symposium, however, with 20 chapters bizarre world of avian microparasites which I, as BOOK REVIEWS 457

somconc just beginning studies of avian viruses, found much of their charm after Sean Connery stopped play- particularly useful. The appendix chapter by Clayton ing that role, retirement and death of the real James and Walthcr, describing ways that diffcrcnt kinds of Bond in 1989 meant that his Guide to the Birds of the ectoparasites may be collected from birds, may turn West Indies was becoming more and more out of date. out to bc the most widely read chapter in the book. It In addition, the burgeoning market in avian field is a must for anyone contemplating field studies of guides set modern standards of quality much higher avian parasitism. than found in the Bond book, which first appeared in Authors of most chapters do a good job of identi- 1936. fying major questions that should guide studies of avi- Enter Raffaclc. Herbert Raffaele. Not as handsome an parasitism into the next century. Those are well as Scan Connery, perhaps (although I have always ad- summarized in a concluding chapter by the editors. mired Herb’s chbide of suits), but hc and his coll&agues The book should prove to be a valuable rcsourcc to have filled the niche left bv the loss of James Bond graduate students searching for thesis topics. It is ob- with the extremely high quality A Guide fo thr Birds vious from the papers in this volume that one exciting @the Wesf Indies. Listed as authors following Raffaclc and important frontier is the study of the relationship are James W. Wiley, Orlando H. Garrido, Allan R. bctwecn parasitism and immune function in birds. The Keith, and Janis I. Raffaele. Tracy D. Pcdcrscn and principal defense of most hosts against parasitism is Kristin Williams are listed as primary illustrators, with immunological, but investing in an immune system re- additional art by five others. quires limited resources that are also needed for This large but not unwieldy guide covers 564 spc- growth, survival, and reproduction. The widespread ties known from the West Indies, including migrants, variation in immune function among host individuals introduced species, and vagrants. That coverage is suggests that hosts balance this tradeoff in diffcrcnt achieved with 86 color plates, with each plate illus- ways, but we understand relatively little about how trating up to I8 species, but I2 rcscrved for beautiful animals make those choices and their consequences. representations of single island endemics, often with When we observe an animal in the field with a height- habitat or nesting information incorporated into the cned immune response, is that individual of particu- plate. Another eight plates group island endemics to- larly good quality or has it been sick and exposed to gether. many parasites? What are the total life-history conse- The 235 pages of species accounts have sections on quences of high immunocompetcncc? Do immuno- local names, identification, voice, status and range, and compctcnt birds live longer but reproduce less because habitat for each species, plus a “Comments” section their endocrine systems are suppressed? This is an ex- that provides other observations helpful for identifi- citing time for those of us intcrcsted in parasitism and cation. Each species has a map of the West Indies its effect on natural populations. showing its range. A 43-page locality checklist sum- The editors state in their preface that one intent of marizes distribution of each species and provides a sta- this book is to break down barriers between classical tus category for each island on which a species occurs. parasitologists and evolutionary biologists. They right- That list makes it easy for someone planning a trip to ly point out that the former have been guilty of the just one or two islands to develop a list of possibilities view that only an expert on a particular group of par- without going through the whole guide. asites can do meaningful work on that group, and the As Raffaele is an employee of the U.S. Fish and latter have been guilty of a condescension toward those Wildlife Service whose job involves international con- who focus on descriptive studies of taxa. A joining of servation efforts, it is not surprising that more infor- forces would yield more rapid progress. This volume mation is provided on that topic than in most field has at least breached the barrier, because it has drawn guides. The 15.page section on conservation includes together parasitologists and evolutionary biologists statements from local representatives of 19 islands or into the same, remarkably well intcgratcd book. Clay- island-groups about conservation problems specific to ton and Moore have produced an interesting, attractive their homelands. The acknowledgements section is a volume that is the l&cst cditcd book I h&e seen in veritable “Who’s Who” in Caribbean ornithology, not- quite some time.-CHARLES R. BROWN, Depart- ing those who contributed in meaningful ways to the mcnt of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tul- 1.--l DOOK. sa, OK 74 104-3 189, e-mail: [email protected] It also is worth noting that because Hcrbcrt Raffaele is a federal employee, profits from salt of the book go A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies.-Herbert to the Caribbean Society for Ornithology, the National A. Raffaele, James W. Wiley, Orlando H. Garrido, Al- Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Fish and Wild- Ian R. Keith, and Janis I. Raffaele. 1998. Princeton life Service’s Winged Ambassadors migrant bird pro- University Press, Princeton, NJ. 512 pp., 86 color gram. Raffaele also is making copies of color plates plates. ISBN O-69 I-08736-9. $49.50 (cloth). available to others in the Caribbean, thus greatly re- Bond. James Bond. ducing the chief hurdle for those wanting to do island- For much of the civilized world, that name brings specific field guides. LID immediate images of the virile SDV with a license With so many West Indies bird experts providing so I . < to kill. For a subset of ornithologists with interests in much energy and passion to this guide, it is not sur- the West Indies, the Bond name for years was asso- prising that its quality is very high. Most of my criti- ciated with the only field guide to birds of that region, cisms fit into the “picky” category. The plates are gen- along with a lifetime’s studies on West Indies birds. erally cxccllent, but, in my mind, those illustrators join But time marches on. Just as the Bond movies lost the long list of artists who have failed lo capture the 458 BOOK REVIEWS

essence of members of the West Indian Tody family. to deep forest), size differences (dove- to turkey-sized), Having watched todics for hours, I know that they just and social organization (monogamous territorial to co- don’t look like the ones pictured. On the other hand, operative breeders). Kemp has done a commendable once one sees a tody, the last thing one needs to do is job covering this peculiar yet varied group in one com- check a field guide! pact volume. Each species has a map, which seems like a nice Having long been a student of hornbills, Kemp is idea, but which is not always that useful. When maps eminently qualified for this compendium, and the over- show the whole West Indies region, the detail is quite all good quality of the book reflects his competence. small (and hard for me to read even with my new In the first few chapters he provides an overview of bifocals). A circle around St. Lucia is not only hard to the order covering various aspects of their biology in- find, but to truly appreciate the map, one has to be cluding breeding behavior, feeding ecology, taxonomic able to remember names of the islands as one goes up affinities, zoogeography, and conservation. The second the chain of Lesser Antilles. Here, one could just have and main part of the book comprises concise accounts, stated “St. Lucia” under the range section. The same with range maps, of all that is known for the 54 spe- is true for species found throughout the West Indies, cies. With over 600 literature citations, the book fur- particularly those associated with marine habitats. nishes an extensive unprecedented coverage of the lit- Fewer maps would have saved some space with little craturc up to 1993, including little known and inac- loss of information. cessible sources such as conference proceedings, sym- With avian taxonomy in such a state of flux, the posia, and the like, plus a vast, mostly taxonomic, authors made some decisions that are undoubtedly literature in German. The small but excellent glossary bound to irritate some concerned with the “proper” at the end of the book will assist the lay reader. taxonomy, including some differences with the recent- Martin Woodcock’s paintings, showing the birds in ly rclcased AOU Check-list. For example, the authors various plumages (sex, age, subspecies) at rest and in split Lesser Antillean Pewec (Contopus latirosrris) into flight seen from above have splendid life-like qualities. three spccics and used a different name than the AOU Some of the forest hornbills also should have been for the pewee species occurring in Cuba and the Ba- shown in flight from below. The exccllcnt color illus- hamas Whereas the AOU stuck with a single species trations, and the fine drawings throughout the text, of Stripe-hcadcd Tanager (Spin&is zena), this book makes it a delight to the casual user and a vital source recognizes four species of that bird, following recently of information to one keen on field identifications. The published work showing major differences among attention given to juvenile and subaduh plumages is those groups. At the family level, though, the West particularly wclcomc. Indies guide kept all families constituting the Ember- Kemp makes clever use of computational skills to izidae together, even though the AOU went back to derive a variety of information on the design of horn- using Parulidae, Icteridae, etc. bills (Chapter 2). Particularly impressive is the way he All of those complaints are very minor ones. Raf- predicted body masses of little known species using facie and his collcagues have made a state-of-the-art regression between wing length and known masses held guide which should encourage further work in (Fig. 2.1). However, the figure caption erroneously has that region. Those of us with copies of Bond should an initial log,, on the independent side of the cqua- retire them to our bookshelves for reference or for the tion-this should be deleted; also the dot after 2.917 memories they contain. Raffacle is the book of the should be raised to indicate multiplication and not dec- future in the West Indies, although I know there will imal point as it now appears. Table 2.3 presents pre- always be occasions for mc to grab my ragged copy viously unknown information on estimates of basal of Bond. James Bond.-FAABORG. JOHN FAA- metabolic rate, flight metabolism, wingloading, and as- BORG, Division of Biological Sciences, 110 Tucker pect ratio for all species of hornbills. Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, e- Kemp’s values in Table 2.4 (p.17) differed slightly mail: [email protected] from our selcctcd recalculations, which could be due to differences in rounding off for cube root of body The Hornbilk-Alan Kemp. Illustrated by Martin weights, but one value (bill length proportion in B. Woodcock. 1995. Oxford University Press, Oxford, bicornis) is nearly 2 points off. Also, these figures in- U.K. xvi + 302 pp., 14 color plates, numerous draw- dicate proportions and thus should be dimensionless. ings and range maps, 13 tables and 4 figures. ISBN O- Yet, they are presented erroneously as units (mm, mm?, 19-857729-X. $65.00 (cloth). etc). Part of the next table (Table 2.5.) is confusing. This is a comprehensive treatise covering all 54 spe- With its “+” signs, it seems to indicate that casque cies of a fascinating groun of Old World birds (Order difference occurs between sexes in all species of horn- Bucerotiformes) w&&n in a style designed for a wide bills, but the color plates show no differcncc in some audience. With large casques on their beaks and pe- species, and indeed on p. 22 he says some males do culiar breeding habits (nesting female seals herself in not have larger casqucs than females. An explanation a natural tree cavity), hornbills are unique among of the “+” symbols might have clarified this problem. birds. But some other unique attributes are less known: Kemp’s expertise in conservation is evident in the 2-lobed not 3-lobed kidneys; lack of under-wing co- Conservation chapter, wherein he emphasizes that 80% vcrts causing wings to leak air giving large species a of hornbill species in tropical moist evergreen forest whooshing noise in flight; surface (subcutaneous) air- could be thrcatcned by habitat loss, and that nest site sacs in chicks, and unique skclctal neck support. Still availability, declining due to depletion of large trees, it is a very diverse group in habitat selection (savanna is possibly the most critical factor for hornbill survival. BOOK REVIEWS 459

He advocates installing artificial nest cavities, which Pied Hornbill Anthrucoceros nlhirostris. thus missing seldom has been tried, and presents a basic design. the confusion over this name and A. ma/&~ricus for Kemp stresses education and overall forest manage- the species (S. Ah and S. D. Ripley, Hmdbook offhe ment rather than establishing reserves because reserves birds of India and Pukistun. Oxford Univ. Press, arc characteristically too small to support populations 1983). . of larger hornbills. Kemp’s suggestion of harvesting There are some errors, inconsistencies, or draw- juveniles and using them for captive breeding to build backs: none of the range maps are titled often forcing a stock for sale to conservation projects seems replete page flipping; the opening hornbill diagram mislabels with impracticabilities and potentially insurmountable the throat as breast and the crus as thigh; the diagram legal and bureaucratic hassles. He neglects to mention also omits eyelashes-characteristic of all but the two the importance of ecotourism in hornbill conservation. Bucorvids; no hornbills are shown in eastern penin- The hornbill fossil record, being poor, obscures the sular India (p. 5) but the maps on p. 152 and 158 evolutionary history of these birds. Kemp uses cladis- contradict this; the range map and text for the Great tics incorporating various hornbill features to produce Pied Hornbill should be extended to Bhutan; the pro- a tree-diagram (Fig. 6.1) that shows ground hornbills longed duet calls of the Great Pied Hornbill are not arc a separate Family (Bucorvidac) from the rest (Fam- described; casque dimensions arc given only for the ily Buccrotidac). Hc misinterprets a portion of the tree Great Pied Hornbill, not for others, even though casque and says that some Ocycemv hornbills (Indomalayan volume is a factor in Fig. 2.4; the essay on Buceroti- region) are “closely allied” (p. 65) to the African formcs says brood patch is feathered (p. 89), whereas Tockus, whereas the tree shows Ocyceros is connected elsewhere (p. 52) it is not; similar contradictions in use of soil by Great Pied Hornbill for sealing (p. 181 and to a different branch not including Tockus. He also 182): ground hornbill maximum densitv of 10.000 haa contends that cvidcncc from Mallophaga (chewing- (Table-5.2) seems high; the word w&q for male A. lice) distributions on hornbill species (Fig 6.2) sup- narcondami is omitted from its mcasurcments section; ports the cladistics, but this is not apparent. Perhaps mass is used in tables, weight in species accounts; and more explanation in the text would have helped. The the section on anatomy and biology contains almost minimal DNA hybridization work produced a tree that no anatomy. Also, much interesting information is is consistent with cladistic results. found in the tables with disappointingly minimal in- Kemp emphasizes the importance of ebb and flow terpretation of the data in the text (e.g., Table 2.4). of forest and savanna, and the rise and fall of ocean Despite a few nagging problems, the book is an in- levels connecting land masses, as driving forces in dispensable asset to hornbill researchers and is there- hornbill distributions in Africa and Southeast Asia, re- fore a must on their shelves, and will be especially of spectively. But he does not mention the disjunct dis- value in the libraries of institutions in countries where tribution of the Great Pied Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) hornbills occur.-RAGUPATHY KANNAN, Depart- on the Indian subcontinent (Himalayas and peninsular ment of Biology, Westark College, Fort Smith, AR India) explained by the formerly higher Satpura Moun- 72913 (e-mail: [email protected]) and tains connecting the biota of the two areas (S. Hora, DOUGLAS A. JAMES, Department of Biological Sci- 1950, Current Science 19:364-370). Taxonomic notes ences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701 are provided for some species, but not for Oriental (e-mail: [email protected]).