Recommendation: Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach (6th Edition, 1997)
Author: John Alcock
This is an excellent, well organized, engagingly written textbook. It may be a tiny bit denser than the comparison texts I give below, but I found it to be far and away the most rewarding of the three (I’ve just read the three). The natural examples he gives to illustrate the many behaviors are perfectly curated for the book. Also, he uses Tinbergen’s four questions to frame these discussions, which ensured a rich description of each behavior. The author gives a cogent defense of sociobiology in the last chapter, which was icing on the cake.
Other #1: Principles of Animal Behavior (1st Edition, 2003)
Author: Lee Alan Dugatkin
This was one I had to read for a class; it’s a bit shorter than Alcock, and maybe it has been improved upon since this inaugural edition, but I found the fluff-to-substance ratio to be concerningly high. It was much more basic than Alcock, perhaps better suited for a high school audience. The chapters were written like works of fiction and the author maintained this style throughout, which I found distracting (though others may like it). Bottom line: If you have had a decent college level class in biology, you would definitely be better off going straight to an older edition of Alcock.
Other #2: Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach (9th Edition, 2009)
Author: John Alcock
I read through this edition too (I think there’s a 10th out now) while writing my undergraduate thesis to make sure I hadn’t missed any important updates in the field (I hadn’t). The new edition had ~100 fewer pages; it was long on pictures (quite a few more than its predecessor) and short on content. It’s been several years now and I can’t remember exactly the ways in which it differed, but “watered down” comes to mind. I would highly recommend picking up an older edition unless this one is specifically required.
Subject: Animal Behavior (Ethology)
Recommendation: Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach (6th Edition, 1997) Author: John Alcock
This is an excellent, well organized, engagingly written textbook. It may be a tiny bit denser than the comparison texts I give below, but I found it to be far and away the most rewarding of the three (I’ve just read the three). The natural examples he gives to illustrate the many behaviors are perfectly curated for the book. Also, he uses Tinbergen’s four questions to frame these discussions, which ensured a rich description of each behavior. The author gives a cogent defense of sociobiology in the last chapter, which was icing on the cake.
Other #1: Principles of Animal Behavior (1st Edition, 2003) Author: Lee Alan Dugatkin
This was one I had to read for a class; it’s a bit shorter than Alcock, and maybe it has been improved upon since this inaugural edition, but I found the fluff-to-substance ratio to be concerningly high. It was much more basic than Alcock, perhaps better suited for a high school audience. The chapters were written like works of fiction and the author maintained this style throughout, which I found distracting (though others may like it). Bottom line: If you have had a decent college level class in biology, you would definitely be better off going straight to an older edition of Alcock.
Other #2: Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach (9th Edition, 2009) Author: John Alcock
I read through this edition too (I think there’s a 10th out now) while writing my undergraduate thesis to make sure I hadn’t missed any important updates in the field (I hadn’t). The new edition had ~100 fewer pages; it was long on pictures (quite a few more than its predecessor) and short on content. It’s been several years now and I can’t remember exactly the ways in which it differed, but “watered down” comes to mind. I would highly recommend picking up an older edition unless this one is specifically required.
Added, thanks!