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Alexander Skutch

The books are ordered by publication date with the most recent at the top.

Alexander Skutch wrote a number of books about philosophy, morality and religion these fall outside the scope of this site but are listed in brief at the bottom of this page.

Trogons, Laughing Falcons, and Other Neotropical Birds

Alexander F. Skutch

Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series #29

Texas A & M University Press

1999

"This book reveals the lifetime dedication of an expert naturalist who for seventy years has studied birds in tropical America, from Mexico to Peru and Venezuela."

Helpers at Birds' Nests: A Worldwide Survey of Cooperative Breeding and Related Behavior

Alexander F. Skutch

University of Iowa Press

Expanded edition

1999

"Provides vivid, detailed accounts of a remarkable aspect of bird behavior - the aid that one bird gives another who is neither its mate nor its dependent young and who may even belong to a different species. Skutch describes the cooperative behavior of more than fifty families of birds. Each family is introduced by a brief sketch of its distribution and outstanding features, followed by intimate, nontechnical accounts of the helpful behaviors that have been most carefully studied. Skutch considers the significance of helpful birds and discusses the theoretical aspects of cooperative breeding, its evolution, kin selection, altruism, and demography."

Life of the Flycatcher

Alexander F. Skutch

University of Oklahoma

1997

"The American flycatcher is the subject of this enchanting book by a renowned ornithologist, who draws upon personal observations and extensive research to portray this family over its vast range."

Antbirds and Ovenbirds: Their Lives and Homes

Alexander F. Skutch

Corrie Herring Hooks Series

University of Texas Press

1996

"Antbirds and ovenbirds, two of the five largest families of birds found only in the Western Hemisphere, have been among Alexander Skutch's favorites for more than six decades. In this book, he draws on years of observations to describe the life cycle of these fascinating birds, which inhabit Latin America from tropical Mexico to Tierra del Fuego. Skutch covers all aspects of the birds' lives, including the various species in each family, food and foraging, daily life, voice, displays and courtship, nests and incubation, and parental care. He also recounts anecdotes from his own experiences, creating vivid pictures of antbirds foraging for the insects Skutch stirs up on walks through the rainforest and of ovenbirds repairing the observation holes that he opens in their elaborate nests."

Orioles, Blackbirds, and Their Kin: A Natural History

Alexander F. Skutch

University of Arizona Press

1996

"From blackbirds and orioles to meadowlarks, grackles, and cowbirds, the variety and variation shown by members of the family Icteridae is legend. The family exhibits great diversity in size and coloration, mating and nest building, and habits and habitats. This group of 94 New World species once known as the troupials is well represented in backyards across America; yet most icterids are tropical or semi-tropical species that remain largely unstudied. The least known of these species are perhaps best known to Alexander Skutch, who has studied birds in a Costa Rican tropical valley for more than half a century. In this fascinating book - the first devoted exclusively to the icterids - he combines his own observations with those of other naturalists to provide a comparative natural history and biology of this remarkable family of birds. Devoting a separate chapter to each major group or genus, he delineates the outstanding characteristics of each and includes observations of little-studied tropical species such as caciques and oropendolas. Orioles, Blackbirds, and Their Kin is an eminently readable natural history in the classic style. Enhanced by 31 scratchboard illustrations, this book will delight nature enthusiasts everywhere with its fascinating exposition of avian diversity. Because so much of the published information on the icterids is widely scattered, Skutch's painstaking compilation has created a valuable reference work that will provide students and researchers with a wealth of new insights into the tropical members of this New World family."

The Minds of Birds

Alexander F. Skutch

Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series #23

Texas A&M University Press

1996

"In this controversial culmination of a lifelong quest, Alexander F. Skutch, a well-known ornithologist who has studied birds for more than sixty years, makes a case for "believing that birds' mental capacities have been grossly underestimated." Lacking hard scientific proofs of what birds think and feel, we are left, Skutch argues, with inferences gleaned from observation of their behavior. His intimate, six-decade study of tropical and north temperate birds and his wide survey of the literature inform this remarkable review of the psychic life of birds. Although varying widely by species, many birds have a striking ability to recognize as individuals not only other birds of their own kind (which all look alike to humans), but also familiar humans, even after a long absence. They have good memories and give indications of forethought. Only humans take more elaborate care of their offspring than most birds do, and few animals of any kind live in such closely united families as those of cooperatively breeding birds, which carefully avoid incest. The diverse play of birds suggests their capacity for enjoyment. They can be taught to count up to eight, and some are known to use tools. The tastefully adorned constructions of bower birds and the songs of many other species also point strongly to an aesthetic sense. The journeys of migrants between known breeding and wintering territories separated by thousands of miles speak of memory and navigational skills that baffle human observers. True, Skutch concludes, inferential evidence only suggests hypotheses and cannot offer scientific proof. Nonetheless, his carefully gathered and documented observations, delightfully reported, accord with the strong intuition of many bird lovers that birds are not unfeeling automata but sensitive creatures, aware of what they do. Birders and behaviorist ornithologists alike will find Skutch's work provocative and rewarding–no more easily dismissed than the apparently purposeful behavior of the birds he describes."

The Origins of Nature's Beauty: Essays

Alexander F. Skutch

Corrie Herring Hooks Series

University of Texas Press

1992

"A lifetime's keen observation of the physical world has led Alexander Skutch to ask deeply philosophical questions about the nature of "nature." In this thought-provoking study, he turns his attention to the problem of how "quality"--beauty, goodness, morality--has arisen in a process of evolution that appears to favor sheer "quantity." Skutch draws his examples from the natural wonders he knows best--birds, butterflies, and flowers. He shows how each uses beauty to attract mates or pollinators and repel or hide from predators--all instances where quality serves the goal of increasing the quantity of a species. More than this, Skutch offers intriguing evidence that animals may possess an aesthetic sense and consciously choose beautiful objects, just as humans do. These views, running counter to prevailing mechanistic explanations of natural processes, offer food for thought to both specialists and the general public."

A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica

F.G. Stiles and Alexander F. Skutch

Cornell University Press

1991

"This lavishly illustrated book is the most comprehensive treatment of a rich tropical avifauna ever presented in a single volume suitable for its use in the field. With is full coverage of waterbirds and migrants as well as resident tropical species, and its coverage of such topics as plumages, vocalizations, food habits, nesting, and distribution, it is truly a guide to the birds themselves, not merely a guide to their identification. Gary Stiles and Alexander Skutch first set the stage for the birds by briefly describing the landforms, vegetation, and climates of Costa Rica. For those who want to take "that second long look" to interpret what they see, the authors discuss some aspects of evolution, ecology, and behavior of Costa Rican birds, and report on the costly and courageous conservation efforts the country is making in face of discouraging odds. The family and species accounts that follow, covering some 400 pages, make up the bulk of the book, with 52 magnificent color plates illustrating virtually ever species of Costa Rican bird, migrants as well as residents."

Life of the Pigeon

Alexander F. Skutch

Cornell University Press

1991

This work describes pigeon behaviour and ecology, as well as pigeons' special relationship with man, particularly their ability as homing pigeons.

Birds Asleep

Alexander F. Skutch

University of Texas Press

1989

Life Of The Tanager

Alexander F. Skutch

Cornell University Press

1989

"Alexander F. Skutch has spent more than 40 years studying Neotropical birds, mostly in southern Costa Rica, where he makes his home. In this charming book he observes the habits of the tanagers, a family of some 230 species of brightly colored, predominantly fruit-eating birds of the New World. Skutch describes many of the unusual things he has seen tanagers do, and details their behavior: how they forage and feed, vocalize, interact with one another, court, and breed. He tells how they nest, care for their young, and defend against predators, and shows them in such daily activities as grooming and sleeping. His final chapter is devoted to the present status of tanagers in relation to humans and the destruction of their physical environment."

Life Of The Woodpeckers

Alexander F. Skutch

Cornell University Press

1988

A detailed account of the lives of woodpeckers with 60 plates by Dana Gardner.

Helpers at Birds' Nests: A Worldwide Survey of Cooperative Breeding and Related Behavior

Alexander F. Skutch

University of Iowa Press

1987

Expanded edition published in 1999.

"In graceful, clear prose, Skutch makes accessible to amateur bird-watchers examples of cooperation in species as far-flung as the little rifleman of New Zealand, the Laysan albatross in the mid Pacific, and the neotropical birds of Skutch's own Valley of El General in Costa Rica. Skutch describes the cooperative behavior of more than fifty families of birds. Each family is introduced by a brief sketch of its distribution and outstanding features, followed by intimate, nontechnical accounts of the helpful behaviors that have been most carefully studied. Skutch considers the significance of helpful birds and discusses the theoretical aspects of cooperative breeding, its evolution, kin selection, altruism, and demography."

A Naturalist Amid Tropical Splendor

Alexander F. Skutch

University of Iowa Press

1987

"In this reflective account of life in the tropics, Alexander Skutch offers readers both his observations and his interpretations of what he has experienced. In the many chapters about birds and their behavior, he describes a dove that defends its nest with rare courage, castlebuilders who create elaborate nests of interlaced twigs, oropendolas that cluster long woven pouches in high treetops, and an exceptionally graceful hummingbird who fails to pay for its nectar by pollinating the flowers that yield it. Skutch also describes curious plants and their flowers, including a birthwort that holds its pollinating flies captive and fern fronds that twine high up trunks in the rain forest."

Life Ascending

Alexander F. Skutch

1985

A discussion of evolution, the universe and philosophy.

Nature Through Tropical Windows

Alexander F. Skutch

University Of California Press

1984

Birds of Tropical America

Alexander F. Skutch

Corrie Herring Hooks Series

University of Texas Press

1983

"Describes the behavior, nesting habits, and life cycles of the various types of birds in the tropical forests of South and Central America."

New Studies of Tropical American Birds

Alexander F. Skutch

Nuttall Ornithological Club publication 19

1981

A Naturalist on a Tropical Farm

Alexander F. Skutch

University Of California Press

1980

The Imperative Call: A Naturalist's Quest in Temperate and Tropical America

Alexander F. Skutch

1979

"This autobiography and natural history recounts his early years growing up in Maryland and Maine and his adventures in Central America and Jamaica during the 1920s and 1930s, when he began his studies of nesting birds, well before modernisation affected the region. It weaves precise descriptions of tropical plant, bird, and animal life into personal philosophy about man and nature. The book ends with the author's arrival in Costa Rica, in the then remote valley where he has lived since 1935."

A Bird Watcher's Adventures in Tropical America

Alexander F. Skutch

Corrie Herring Hooks Series

University of Texas Press

1978

"A well-known naturalist and bird-watcher tells of some of his more memorable experiences during journeys through the wilds of Mexico and Central and South America in the 1930s and early 1940s."

Parent Birds and Their Young

Alexander F. Skutch

University of Texas Press

1976

The Life of the Hummingbird

Alexander Skutch

Crown Publishers

1973

Includes full colour plates of 80 species.

Studies of Tropical American Birds

Alexander F. Skutch

1972

A Naturalist in Costa Rica

Alexander F. Skutch

1971

Life Histories of Central American Birds III

Alexander F. Skutch

Illustrations: Don R. Eckelberry

Pacific Coast Avifauna Number 35

Cooper Ornithological Society

1969

From the introduction:

"This third volume of Life Histories contains accounts of representatives of five families of the Tyranni, that major division of the great order of passerine birds which is considered more primitive, because its members have vocal organs of simpler structure and accordingly produce less varied songs than we find in the larger branch of this order, the Oscines or true songbirds. The five families treated here are all confined to the Western Hemisphere, and their members are found largely in the tropical regions of the American continents, Only one of these families, the Furnariidae or ovenbirds, is well represented in the temperate regions of southern South America, and only a single representative of these five large families has extended its range as far northward as the southern boundary of the United States. The sixth family of the Tyranni that is represented north of the Isthmus of Panama by more than one rare species, the Tyrannidae or American flycatchers, was, in order to keep these volumes fairly uniform in size, treated in Part II. For the same reason, the present volume has been extended beyond the passerines to include the nearly cosmopolitan woodpecker."

Life Histories of Central American Highland Birds

Alexander F. Skutch

1967

Life Histories of Central American Birds II

Alexander F. Skutch

Pacific Coast Avifauna Number 34

Cooper Ornithological Society

1960

From the introduction:

"This volume of life histories follows closely the plan of its predecessor. The observations recorded herein were made in the same places as those which fill the first volume, in the introduction to which they are briefly described. But the studies reported here were made over a longer interval of time, extending from 1929 to 1956. Nearly all of my more recent bird watching has been done on my farm at Quizarra where I have resided since 194 1. It is on the northern side of the valley of El General which is on the Pacific slope of southern Costa Rica at an altitude of about 2500 Feet."

Life Histories of Central American Birds

Alexander F. Skutch

Pacific Coast Avifauna Number 31

Cooper Ornithological Society

1954

From the introduction:

"Lying between two great continents each with its peculiar avifauna, the thousand mile-long isthmus known as Central America has a wonderfully rich bird life. The greater part of the region is comprised in the Caribbean lowlands, where the rainfall is high and rather uniformly distributed through the year and the forests tall and heavy. The colorful bird life of these warm and humid lowlands is closely related to that of northern and eastern South America. Nearly all the genera, and the majority even of the species of these Caribbean birds, are found also in the southern continent; many of the species extend across the tropics to Paraguay and northern Argentina. On the Pacific side of the Cordillera, in southern Costa Rica and adjacent Panama, lies another area of low elevation and heavy rainfall, where the forests resemble those of the Caribbean region and the avifauna is much the same, although there are numerous forms endemic to this section and many of the Caribbean types fail to occur. In the drier country stretching along the Pacific coast from the Gulf of Nicoya in Costa Rica to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, and in deep arid valleys in the rain shadow of the mountains on the Caribbean side of northern Central America, there is found a quite distinct group of birds of varied origins, many of which appear to be derived from the north rather than from the south. Only a few of the wider-ranging and more adaptable species of birds dwell in the most humid as well as the most arid sections of the Central American lowlands."