What it’s like to be a dog
Gregory Berns

A leading scientist applies the tools of neuroscience to understand how animals think. By teaching dogs to go into an MRI scanner, Berns discovers what makes them individuals with varying capacities for self-control, different value systems and a complex understanding of human speech. And dogs are just the beginning. The new way of understanding animals will revolutionise how we communicate and treat our furry, and not-so-furry, friends.Ground-breaking and deeply humane, this is essential reading for animal lovers of all stripes.

Oneworld, $27.99

  

How birds got their names
Stephen Moss

Mrs Moreau’s Warbler combines detective work, natural history, folklore and firsthand observations to explore how birds got their names and our long and eventful relationship with the natural world. Stephen Moss is one of Britain’s leading nature writers, broadcasters and wildlife television producers.

Guardian Books, $32.99

 

 

Owl Sense
Miriam Darlington

Owls have captivated the human imagination for millennia. We have fixated on this night hunter as predator, messenger, emblem of wisdom, something pretty to print on a tote bag or portent of doom. If we could follow an owl on its nocturnal flight what would we see? What would we hear? Miriam Darlington will sort myth from reality and change the way you think of this magnificent creature.

Allen & Unwin, $32.99