This event is part of Envoronment for the Americas Bird Book Club

Birds aren’t just passing through our lives—they’re forming friendships, families, and communities of their own. Join Environment for the Americas for our April Bird Book Club as we chat with evolutionary biologist and author Joan E. Strassmann about her book The Social Lives of Birds.

In this engaging and eye-opening read, Strassmann explores what it really means for birds of a feather to flock together. From massive communal roosts and mixed-species foraging groups to cooperative parenting and synchronized mating dances, birds around the world live richly social lives—sometimes for safety and warmth, sometimes for breeding, and sometimes just because it works.

Drawing on examples from across the globe, Strassmann reveals both the benefits and the challenges of group living. Flocks may offer protection and efficiency, but they also bring competition, conflict, and even parasites. Through it all, birds have evolved remarkable ways to cooperate, negotiate, and coexist.

This lively conversation with the author will explore the science behind bird social behavior, what to look for in your own birding, and why solitary living, it turns out, really isn’t for the birds. Perfect for bird lovers, science enthusiasts, and anyone curious about how community shapes life in the natural world. Come ready to ask questions, share observations, and see your backyard birds in a whole new (social) light.