Description: Stacey and Koenig discuss the phenomenon of cooperative breeding among birds, an unusual kind of social behavior common to only a few hundred species worldwide, in which individuals other than the male-female pairs help to raise the young of a single nest or den. Because certain individuals aid in raising offspring which are not their own, cooperative breeding gives rise to some of the clearest examples of altruism among animals. This unique breeding behavior is of interest to evolutionary biologists and behavioral ecologists since such species exhibit some of the most unusual and bizarre social behavior observed anywhere in the animal kingdom. The studies are all long term and consequently the book summarizes some of the most extensive studies of the behavior of marked individuals ever undertaken. Graduate students and research workers in ornithology, sociobiology, behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology will find much of value in this book.
Review Quotes: "I strongly recommend this book to any biologist interested in behavioral ecology, sociality, or ornithology. It provides an excellent review of many of the primary cooperative breeding studies of the last two decades, points the way to future research, and touches on some of the more general problems in behavioral ecology. It would make a good addition to personal as well as to professional libraries." The Auk