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Owls Aren't Wise Bats Aren't Blind A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies About Wildlife Warner Shedd Trudy Nicholson 9780609807972 Books

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Owls Aren't Wise Bats Aren't Blind A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies About Wildlife Warner Shedd Trudy Nicholson 9780609807972 Books

“Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind: A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies About Wildlife” by Warner Shedd and Trudy Nicholson

“Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind” is a solid book that addresses the myths and fallacies about wildlife. Wildlife expert Warner Shedd debunks wildlife myths while providing accurate scientific information, in an accessible manner. This engaging 338-page book includes twenty-four chapters with each chapter covering a specific animal (from beavers to bisons).

Positives:
1. An engaging, well-written book.
2. Interesting topic, debunking popular wildlife myths.
3. It’s accessible and fun to read. Each chapter covers an animal and the myths associated with them.
4. This book debunks myths. “It’s widely and erroneously believed that beavers include fish in their diet. However, beavers are entirely vegetarian.”
5. Showcases positive attributes of each animal. “This propensity for creating openings in wetlands makes the muskrat extremely valuable to other species. Without open areas, ducks, geese, herons, egrets, and numerous other birds would derive little benefit from marshes, shallow ponds, and similar wet areas.”
6. The life of squirrels. “Far from being vegetarians, as most people believe, reds and grays alike are quick to consume birds’ eggs and baby birds whenever they have the chance, and grays are known to feed on forest-dwelling frogs. The reds, even more omnivorous than the grays, go a step further and often eat the young of small mammals such as mice and voles.”
7. The fascinating porcupine. “Porcupine quills are actually highly specialized hairs, totally distinct from the short underfur and very long guard hairs. A porcupine has an astonishing 30,000 quills to protect its back, flanks, and tail—an average of about 140 quills per square inch on much of its body!”
8. Bats! “Approximately 55 million years ago, and nearly that long before we humans even existed, bats had evolved into winged creatures—the only mammal that truly flies.”
9. Life expectancy surprises. “Possums, in contrast, almost never live to be more than two years old, and most fail to make it even that far.”
10. The armadillo’s plates. “Although an armadillo’s tough, horny plates do serve in extremis as a defense against predators, they probably function more as a shield against thorns, spines, and sharp twigs. The armadillo mostly inhabits areas where sharp, spiny plants seem to be the rule, and its armor enables the little creature to escape danger by scurrying with impunity into thick, thorny brush too daunting for most predators to tackle.”
11. The color of life. “At first glance, the bright color of the efts might seem to work to their disadvantage by making them more visible to predators, but efts are to some degree toxic—though not for humans to handle—and scientists speculate that their bright color may serve as a warning to predators that they should be left alone.”
12. Important terms explained. “Toads are amphibians, with all that the term implies. The word is derived from the Greek amphi, of two kinds, and bios, life, and refers to the fact that toads and other amphibians can live both on land and in the water. Indeed, water or a very moist environment is required for amphibians to reproduce, although many spend most of their lives on dry land.”
13. Hoot doesn’t love owls. “Owls’ hearing is even more astonishing than their eyesight. Indeed, despite superb nocturnal vision, owls hunt at night more by sound than sight. So incredibly sensitive is their hearing that, according to researcher Allen Eckert, some species of owls can hear a mouse squeak as much as a half-mile away!”
14. The future of some of these animals are discussed. “Herons have been around for a long time—at least 14 million years, according to the fossil record—and the great blue heron, or a remarkably similar counterpart, existed nearly 2 million years ago. Despite the concerns already noted, the great blue seems destined to remain abundant.”
15. The value of weasels. “And although one can understand the wrath of a farmer who found his flock of hens dead, the damage done to poultry by weasels was always minor compared to the good they did—and continue to do—in controlling mice, rats, and other rodents.”
16. The mythology of wolverines. “The reputed ferocity of the wolverine toward humans, and its supposedly supernatural cunning, is a good example of the mythology that has grown up around this creature.”
17. Full of factoids! “Sea otters commonly weigh up to eighty or eighty-five pounds, and a few specimens have reached one hundred pounds. Lacking the seal’s insulating layer of blubber, sea otters survive the cold ocean water by virtue of the densest fur of any animal—100,000 hairs per square centimeter!”
18. As sly as a fox. “Extensive research has revealed that foxes retrieve and eat most of this cached food, finding each cache mainly by an extraordinary memory for its exact location. The fox’s keen sense of smell also helps it locate caches, especially if the fox recalls only the approximate location of the cache, or if the site is covered by several inches of snow.”
19. Important advice. “Let me be very blunt about it: wolf-dog hybrids are DANGEROUS! Many owners of these crosses become highly incensed at the idea that their lovely hybrid could cause problems, let alone harm anyone. However, the facts tell a very different story.”
20. Selected bibliography and much more…

Negatives:
1. Lack of supplementary materials that would have added much value to this book. Lack of charts, maps, comparison tables, etc…
2. Along the same line as the previous negative, I would have organized this material a little better.
3. The book is limited to North American wildlife.
4. Not the reference book quality that it could have been. The information is not as easily accessible as it should have been.

In summary, a fun book on North American wildlife. He covers a wide variety of animals and provides interesting tidbits and debunks myths. The lack of visual material and/or supplementary material keeps it from being a 5-star book but what’s here is fun even when you have to dig for the information. I recommend it!

Further recommendations: “The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters”, “The Making of the Fittest” and “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” by Sean B. Carroll, “The Lives of Animals” by J. Coetzee and Amy Gutman, “Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? By Frans de Waal, “A Most Improbable Journey” by Walter Alvarez, and “A New History of Life” by Peter Ward.


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Owls Aren't Wise Bats Aren't Blind A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies About Wildlife Warner Shedd Trudy Nicholson 9780609807972 Books Reviews

I was so sorry when this book ended. It was chocked full of information about animals, much of which I didn’t know. Happy to have a better understanding of the wildlife around me.
Enjoyable read and very educational.
Animal & nature lover, this is for you.
Nice rundown on a number of common North American animals. Well written with many facts debunking the myths.
Made a nice gift. Recipient enjoyed it.
Written at the college level, not a general fact book for kids. Don't make the same mistake I did.
This book seems mostly disorganized personal anecdote. There is certainly some informative writing, but it is ponderous and ridiculously long. I found myself skimming extensive quantities of the text just to find information nuggets.
“Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies About Wildlife” by Warner Shedd and Trudy Nicholson

“Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind” is a solid book that addresses the myths and fallacies about wildlife. Wildlife expert Warner Shedd debunks wildlife myths while providing accurate scientific information, in an accessible manner. This engaging 338-page book includes twenty-four chapters with each chapter covering a specific animal (from beavers to bisons).

Positives
1. An engaging, well-written book.
2. Interesting topic, debunking popular wildlife myths.
3. It’s accessible and fun to read. Each chapter covers an animal and the myths associated with them.
4. This book debunks myths. “It’s widely and erroneously believed that beavers include fish in their diet. However, beavers are entirely vegetarian.”
5. Showcases positive attributes of each animal. “This propensity for creating openings in wetlands makes the muskrat extremely valuable to other species. Without open areas, ducks, geese, herons, egrets, and numerous other birds would derive little benefit from marshes, shallow ponds, and similar wet areas.”
6. The life of squirrels. “Far from being vegetarians, as most people believe, reds and grays alike are quick to consume birds’ eggs and baby birds whenever they have the chance, and grays are known to feed on forest-dwelling frogs. The reds, even more omnivorous than the grays, go a step further and often eat the young of small mammals such as mice and voles.”
7. The fascinating porcupine. “Porcupine quills are actually highly specialized hairs, totally distinct from the short underfur and very long guard hairs. A porcupine has an astonishing 30,000 quills to protect its back, flanks, and tail—an average of about 140 quills per square inch on much of its body!”
8. Bats! “Approximately 55 million years ago, and nearly that long before we humans even existed, bats had evolved into winged creatures—the only mammal that truly flies.”
9. Life expectancy surprises. “Possums, in contrast, almost never live to be more than two years old, and most fail to make it even that far.”
10. The armadillo’s plates. “Although an armadillo’s tough, horny plates do serve in extremis as a defense against predators, they probably function more as a shield against thorns, spines, and sharp twigs. The armadillo mostly inhabits areas where sharp, spiny plants seem to be the rule, and its armor enables the little creature to escape danger by scurrying with impunity into thick, thorny brush too daunting for most predators to tackle.”
11. The color of life. “At first glance, the bright color of the efts might seem to work to their disadvantage by making them more visible to predators, but efts are to some degree toxic—though not for humans to handle—and scientists speculate that their bright color may serve as a warning to predators that they should be left alone.”
12. Important terms explained. “Toads are amphibians, with all that the term implies. The word is derived from the Greek amphi, of two kinds, and bios, life, and refers to the fact that toads and other amphibians can live both on land and in the water. Indeed, water or a very moist environment is required for amphibians to reproduce, although many spend most of their lives on dry land.”
13. Hoot doesn’t love owls. “Owls’ hearing is even more astonishing than their eyesight. Indeed, despite superb nocturnal vision, owls hunt at night more by sound than sight. So incredibly sensitive is their hearing that, according to researcher Allen Eckert, some species of owls can hear a mouse squeak as much as a half-mile away!”
14. The future of some of these animals are discussed. “Herons have been around for a long time—at least 14 million years, according to the fossil record—and the great blue heron, or a remarkably similar counterpart, existed nearly 2 million years ago. Despite the concerns already noted, the great blue seems destined to remain abundant.”
15. The value of weasels. “And although one can understand the wrath of a farmer who found his flock of hens dead, the damage done to poultry by weasels was always minor compared to the good they did—and continue to do—in controlling mice, rats, and other rodents.”
16. The mythology of wolverines. “The reputed ferocity of the wolverine toward humans, and its supposedly supernatural cunning, is a good example of the mythology that has grown up around this creature.”
17. Full of factoids! “Sea otters commonly weigh up to eighty or eighty-five pounds, and a few specimens have reached one hundred pounds. Lacking the seal’s insulating layer of blubber, sea otters survive the cold ocean water by virtue of the densest fur of any animal—100,000 hairs per square centimeter!”
18. As sly as a fox. “Extensive research has revealed that foxes retrieve and eat most of this cached food, finding each cache mainly by an extraordinary memory for its exact location. The fox’s keen sense of smell also helps it locate caches, especially if the fox recalls only the approximate location of the cache, or if the site is covered by several inches of snow.”
19. Important advice. “Let me be very blunt about it wolf-dog hybrids are DANGEROUS! Many owners of these crosses become highly incensed at the idea that their lovely hybrid could cause problems, let alone harm anyone. However, the facts tell a very different story.”
20. Selected bibliography and much more…

Negatives
1. Lack of supplementary materials that would have added much value to this book. Lack of charts, maps, comparison tables, etc…
2. Along the same line as the previous negative, I would have organized this material a little better.
3. The book is limited to North American wildlife.
4. Not the reference book quality that it could have been. The information is not as easily accessible as it should have been.

In summary, a fun book on North American wildlife. He covers a wide variety of animals and provides interesting tidbits and debunks myths. The lack of visual material and/or supplementary material keeps it from being a 5-star book but what’s here is fun even when you have to dig for the information. I recommend it!

Further recommendations “The Serengeti Rules The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters”, “The Making of the Fittest” and “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” by Sean B. Carroll, “The Lives of Animals” by J. Coetzee and Amy Gutman, “Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? By Frans de Waal, “A Most Improbable Journey” by Walter Alvarez, and “A New History of Life” by Peter Ward.