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New Naturalist Monograph #M09
The Herring Gull's World: A Study Of The Social Behaviour Of Birds
255p illus
255 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 1989
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About the author
Niko Tinbergen
28 books29 followersNikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen FRS[1] (/ˈtɪnbɜːrɡən/ TIN-bur-gən, Dutch: [ˈnikoː(laːs) ˈtɪmbɛrɣə(n)]; 15 April 1907 – 21 December 1988) was a Dutch biologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz[7][8][9][10][11] for their discoveries concerning the organization and elicitation of individual and social behavior patterns in animals. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern ethology, the study of animal behavior.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 9, 2010
I was reading a book called The Herring Gull's World by Niko Tinbergen, a Dutch biologist, and came across a passage that made me think of Nietzsche's critique of Darwin. The passage deals with color sense in birds:
"In all these species, the bright colour-patterns concerned could not have developed without the species having a colour sense. But why do Little Owls have a colour sense? I think the solution is probably that in birds the power of colour-discrimination is a rather old acquisition, of which the species makes use or not. In other words, the colour sense was evolved first, and coloured structures with signal functions have developed as adaptations to various needs. If so, we may reasonably expect most birds to be able to distinguish between colours." (emphasis added).
Darwin and Darwinians have tended to make survival the central force moving evolution. This is what Nietzche critiqued in Darwin. Now if this passage from Tinbergen is correct, it implies that color sense in birds did not originally develop as a survival necessity, but as an extravagance, which only later developed a usefulness for survival, and this only in some of the species that had the trait. And if we get rid of the ideological content of Darwin's theory and look at its basic premise--that chance changes in living beings bring about the evolution of species--then such extravagance is to be expected (I would argue it is absolutely necessary). The changes brought about by chance processes may be harmful, indifferent or useful. Only the harmful ones would be definitively weeded out. The indifferent ones would be extravagances, excesses, things of wonder. Undoubtedly, over time, in new environments, in conjunction with other changes, these extravagances may become useful, but in the meantime, they are signs of the flourishing luxury of life, signs of the fact that the "struggle for survival" is not the norm, but an extremity. Extravagance, exuberance, excess are what provide the basis for the ever-changing interweaving of life.
On a broader level, this same point comes out in Loren Eiseley's beautiful book, The Immense Journey. The book is a poetic look at the marvelous meaninglessness of the evolution of life. Like Tinbergen, Eiseley makes it evident that the evolution of life must operate through extravagance, exuberant squandering, through excess of life. Only in this way can we explain the wide and marvelous variations of traits that allow adaptations to new environments--traits that must have developed before the journey to the new environment (otherwise the creature would not have survived their)--which thus may well have been useless when they were developing. Perhaps if science would detach itself from the utilitarian ideology that dominates our times, and particularly the science of our age, it might be able to see this more clearly, and so embrace the surreal marvel that is life...
"In all these species, the bright colour-patterns concerned could not have developed without the species having a colour sense. But why do Little Owls have a colour sense? I think the solution is probably that in birds the power of colour-discrimination is a rather old acquisition, of which the species makes use or not. In other words, the colour sense was evolved first, and coloured structures with signal functions have developed as adaptations to various needs. If so, we may reasonably expect most birds to be able to distinguish between colours." (emphasis added).
Darwin and Darwinians have tended to make survival the central force moving evolution. This is what Nietzche critiqued in Darwin. Now if this passage from Tinbergen is correct, it implies that color sense in birds did not originally develop as a survival necessity, but as an extravagance, which only later developed a usefulness for survival, and this only in some of the species that had the trait. And if we get rid of the ideological content of Darwin's theory and look at its basic premise--that chance changes in living beings bring about the evolution of species--then such extravagance is to be expected (I would argue it is absolutely necessary). The changes brought about by chance processes may be harmful, indifferent or useful. Only the harmful ones would be definitively weeded out. The indifferent ones would be extravagances, excesses, things of wonder. Undoubtedly, over time, in new environments, in conjunction with other changes, these extravagances may become useful, but in the meantime, they are signs of the flourishing luxury of life, signs of the fact that the "struggle for survival" is not the norm, but an extremity. Extravagance, exuberance, excess are what provide the basis for the ever-changing interweaving of life.
On a broader level, this same point comes out in Loren Eiseley's beautiful book, The Immense Journey. The book is a poetic look at the marvelous meaninglessness of the evolution of life. Like Tinbergen, Eiseley makes it evident that the evolution of life must operate through extravagance, exuberant squandering, through excess of life. Only in this way can we explain the wide and marvelous variations of traits that allow adaptations to new environments--traits that must have developed before the journey to the new environment (otherwise the creature would not have survived their)--which thus may well have been useless when they were developing. Perhaps if science would detach itself from the utilitarian ideology that dominates our times, and particularly the science of our age, it might be able to see this more clearly, and so embrace the surreal marvel that is life...
June 26, 2013
From the last golden age of observational natural history. Written by the scientist himself, but with a voice meant to make the subject intriguing and approachable for the non-scientist. The tone is friendly, musing, and, thank God, not in the passive voice.
Would that more science were done this way today.
Would that more science were done this way today.
February 13, 2023
I had this book sitting on my shelves for over 5 years, and had hesitated to take it down because I thought it might be quite hard going. But, as I am trying to read my backlog of books this year, off the shelf it came.
I shouldn't have worried so much. Nikko Tinbergen manages to make sitting in hides watching Herring Gulls for three years much more interesting than you would expect. In the book he explains what he did and why, and takes you into the Herring Gull's World by trying to understand their behaviour from the point of view of their senses and underlying drives.
He is one of the founders of behavioural ecology as a science and, whilst I am not sure whether or not any of his conclusions have been disproved since this book was written nearly 70 years ago, his conclusions seem to make sense in light of the studies he was able to carry out.
Definitely an enlightening read, especially now that Herring Gulls are becoming less common than they once were. I finished the book with a new appreciation for the observation of bird behaviour.
I shouldn't have worried so much. Nikko Tinbergen manages to make sitting in hides watching Herring Gulls for three years much more interesting than you would expect. In the book he explains what he did and why, and takes you into the Herring Gull's World by trying to understand their behaviour from the point of view of their senses and underlying drives.
He is one of the founders of behavioural ecology as a science and, whilst I am not sure whether or not any of his conclusions have been disproved since this book was written nearly 70 years ago, his conclusions seem to make sense in light of the studies he was able to carry out.
Definitely an enlightening read, especially now that Herring Gulls are becoming less common than they once were. I finished the book with a new appreciation for the observation of bird behaviour.
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June 29, 2021What I remember about this book is the power of observation and description as scientific tools. Those of us with weak scientific training seem to regard science as "Big Data" and quantification. Tinbergen's book and work shows what can be learned through time in the field observing and describing. Returning to the book, I'm always surprised how my interest in seagulls--creatures I rarely think about--grows.
Another plus for me is the account Tinbergen provides of the power of social behavior--the way all of us live within the social, regardless of how free we think we are from its influences.
Another plus for me is the account Tinbergen provides of the power of social behavior--the way all of us live within the social, regardless of how free we think we are from its influences.
March 29, 2022
Fascinating! Overall I really enjoyed this - finding out more about the habits of the herring gull. It was written over 60 years ago now, but is apparently still considered to be one of the main reference works. The book does go into quite a lot of more scientific detail on the studies that Tinbergen has done but despite this I found it interesting enough to plow through as a mere amateur. I'm not sure if more recent scientific studies have superceded the views presented here but the impression I get is that they've merely built on this work and I couldn't find anything more recent in an accessible a format. Has given me new insights into the birds I share my roof with!
November 21, 2016
Totally charming - delightfully old-fashioned.
Made me realise how many hours of patience it takes to observe birds in action.
Also how it's impossible not to anthropomorphise all the time, even if you are a nobel-winning ornithologist.
Made me realise how many hours of patience it takes to observe birds in action.
Also how it's impossible not to anthropomorphise all the time, even if you are a nobel-winning ornithologist.
June 25, 2010
This book is a splendid introduction to ethological methods and to the lives of my neighbors--the herring gulls. What makes the book extraordinary are the Nobel Prize winning Tinbergen's running side comments about scientific investigation, and the relationship between the nature of animals and human nature. Of his many observations about the way that "irrelevant" behaviors emerge from the conflicts between a gull's impulse to attack and his impulse to flee as well as between the impulse to mate and the impulse to attack. Neurotic behavior emerging from ambivalence. How wonderful!
July 5, 2017
Picked this book from a discout shelf on an impulse. Was not disappointed in the least.
It's always interesting to read the reports made by people captivated by the thing they're reporting about, and Mr Tinbergen is clearly captivated by animals and the intricacies of their behavior.
It's always interesting to read the reports made by people captivated by the thing they're reporting about, and Mr Tinbergen is clearly captivated by animals and the intricacies of their behavior.
March 12, 2010
Fascinating book on seagull behavior- even if I did have to read it for a class
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews