55 AUSTRALIAN Field Ornithology 2012, 29, 55–56 Review— Raving about Ravens by Mary Ellen Talmage, Victorian Ornithological Research Group, Melbourne, 2011. Softcover, 15.5 × 23.5 cm, 168 pp., colour photographs, graphs, tables, diagrams. RRP $29 including postage & packaging from VORG. This book is the result of a commendable effort, by an amateur ornithologist using mainly binoculars, telescope and notebook, to conduct a 20-year study of Little Ravens in Melbourne and a 5-year study of Forest Ravens in Victoria and on Bass Strait islands. Mainly anecdotal and descriptive rather than quantitative, and in places rather speculative and anthropomorphic, the book nevertheless presents a detailed account of the lives and behaviour of the two raven species. Most (Part I, 100 pp.) is about the Little Raven, with the balance (Part II, 40 pp.) a less complete study of the Forest Raven. Both parts follow the same format and sequence of topics: Are ravens intelligent?; Pair formation; Territorialism; Breeding behaviour (from nests and building behaviour to parental care and play); Feeding behaviour (including hunting and caching); Body care; and Vocalisations. The book has three appendices: breeding chronology of the Forest Raven; scientific names of species mentioned in the text; and food lists for both species (author’s records only). There is a reference list (of mainly overseas, general works on corvids and bird or animal behaviour), and an index of subjects and terms. Figures include graphs (all on Little Raven) of the seasonal frequency of pair-bonding behaviour, food-caching and territorial calls, and the frequency distribution of nest-heights; and sonagrams of the calls of both species. Tables include (for Little Raven) outcomes of new and reused nests, and of renesting attempts; nestling feeding rates; post-fledging milestones; moult duration; and (for Forest Raven) moult duration. Photographs include study sites, the ravens, their nests, cache-sites, foods, food-handling sites, and pellets. The back cover notes that the author established a special relationship with ravens (by hand-feeding them, as she admits), added a ‘dash’ of science, and that the title says it all. I agree, the science is minimal, and the book is a chatty, subjective rave rather than a concise scientific account. Some aspects were measured or quantified (e.g. heights of nests above the ground, parental time-budgets, breeding and moult chronology), but in the graphs of seasonal frequency of behaviours one has to assume that observation effort was constant or almost so throughout the year i.e., the observational regime was not explained. The sections on intelligence and grieving lean heavily on the avian ‘pop psychology’ literature that has been criticised elsewhere as anthropomorphic. Such sections, and some others (e.g. on play), are inconclusive and therefore unsatisfying. A major shortcoming in the science is the failure to discuss the recent literature, since the late Ian Rowley’s seminal works on Australian corvids; i.e., there is much post-Rowley work, particularly on Talmage’s species, that would have given her work, and book, some context and additional substance or support, had she discussed those references. For example, on Little Raven behaviour: Swinburne & Jessop (2005, Australian Field Ornithology 22, 137–145); on Forest Raven: foraging (Fitzsimons 2003, AFO 20, 24–28) and breeding biology (Secomb 2005, AFO 22, 126–136; Debus & Rose 2006, AFO 23, 96–101); on vocalisations: Jurisevic (1999, Emu 99, 1–8), Lawrence (2005, AFO 22, 72–82). It also should not have been difficult to consult Clare Lawrence’s MSc thesis on the Forest Raven (2008, University of Tasmania, Hobart). Secomb’s work on caching by the Forest Raven (2005, AFO 22, 67–71) deserved more than just ‘… described arboreal AUSTRALIAN 56 Review: Raving about Ravens Field Ornithology food-caching by [this species]’; he reviewed caching by all five Australian species, retrieval of cached food by three, and described tree-caches. Most surprising is the lack of reference to the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds! These lapses can be attributed to one of the VORG reviewers, who has a scientific and bibliographic background. On the other hand, the author cites her six items (anecdotal, subjective) in VORG Notes as an authority on some aspect. The author also acknowledges a team of VORG reviewers who helped with editing, exhorted her to use a spellchecker, etc. Nevertheless, there are still lapses in spelling, grammar, punctuation etc., among the most recurrent and irritating being the misuse of ‘whereby’ for ‘although’. Italicisation of scientific names (Appendix 2), and underlining (not italics) for book and journal titles (or publishers!) in the References, are erratic (which looks amateurish). One notes statements like Little Ravens in Melbourne have ‘no competition for nests’, but they ‘especially mob Little Falcons’ (correct English name now Australian Hobby); Hobbies of course use and even usurp raven nests (but are not, as implied elsewhere in the text, a predatory danger to ravens). Talmage also confuses the long-established terminology by: (a) naming the Little Raven’s stationary wing-flip display, with calling (after Rowley), the ‘wing-flap call’ (misleading, as it doesn’t flap the open wings as so implied); and then (b) introducing a new (unnecessary) and misleading term ‘tail flip’ for the previously described tail-depression that sometimes accompanies the slower call-notes of Australian corvids. Except for the Forest Raven (which does depress the tail strongly when calling territorially), this action may be an illusion; in those species that I have watched closely, the head, back and tail stay on the same plane but the closed wings are ‘hitched’ with each note. Talmage also ascribes ‘wing-flap’ calls to the Forest Raven (for which a stationary wing-flip display has not been described); it is not clear whether this is a label for the call type (rather than the action), or whether there might have been some unrecognised Little Ravens mixed in with the relevant Forest Raven foraging flocks (which does happen). All the above flaws are a symptom of parochial groups like VORG operating in a vacuum. We see it also in some other regional groups, producing obscure online- only journals (e.g. Amytornis, Western Australia Birds Australia; The Whistler, Hunter Bird Observers Club) that sometimes contain material that should be in a national journal. One could ask why VORG is separate from Birds Australia VicGroup or, is not simply the Victorian chapter of the Australian Bird Study Association (given VORG’s interest in banding). The latter umbrella could provide mentoring, science and editorial rigour to lift VORG’s game, and a quality journal that could put VORG’s research findings in the national or international arena. The above notwithstanding, corvid enthusiasts and students of bird behaviour would find this book an informative and enjoyable read. It adds much to knowledge of the two subject species, and provides some valuable insights into, and perspective on, the behavioural topics covered. Reading it would give the general birder a much greater appreciation of ravens and their remarkable capacities, and reveal that amateurs can contribute substantially by sustained observation, careful note- taking, quantitative analysis, and pursuit of publication. Stephen Debus University of New England