I have long been an avid fan of the one of the most distinguished and courageous scientists of recent times, Donald (Don) R. Griffin. He and I spent many hours talking about the scientific study of animal minds, and there is no doubt whatsoever that he is the "Father of Cognitive Ethology." Thus, I was thrilled when Carolyn Ristau published an in-depth three-volume work about the life of this most amazing man, a summary of which can be found in an essay titled "Précis of: 'Birds, Bats and Minds: Tales of a Revolutionary Scientist, Donald R. Griffin'" in the journal Animal Sentience. (All three volumes can be downloaded for free here.)

In 1992, Dale Jamieson and I summarized Don's seminal work in an essay called "On Aims and Methods of Cognitive Ethology" in which we wove his work into the general field of ethology and the rise of cognitive ethology.1 Griffin also challenged skeptics who offered glib accounts of animal minds to bear the burden of proof, and to offer testable hypotheses rather than time-worn dogma. He awakened us about animal cognition and the complex nature of animal minds.

Here's what Carolyn had to say about her landmark book.

Marc Bekoff: Why did you write Birds, Bats and Minds?

Carolyn Ristau: Many of us recognize that Donald R. Griffin was one of the major scientists and scientific intellectuals of the 20th century. More should. Not only an exemplary scientist, Don Griffin was an impressive human being: humble, considerate, open to enumerable ideas, supportive of so many other scientists’ ideas and work, and, as well, witty and inordinately curious! As a scientist he did not merely attempt to better understand animal behavior, he discovered abilities that we did not even imagine existed!

When only an undergraduate, he and his Harvard buddy, Robert Galambos, discovered that some bats have sonar. The bats send out ultra-high frequency sounds that we humans can’t hear; they listen to the echoes that bounce back from objects around them. Amazingly, the bats thereby can make their way in pitch dark night through the rocky crevices in the caves where they often live. (Almost) no one believed the young men. A major biologist simply shook Galambos after he lectured, angrily stating, “You can ‘t be serious!” Later, to Griffin’s own astonishment, he realized that not only could the bats avoid obstacles, they were using the sounds to locate and attack and eat flying insects.

Birds, too, fascinated Griffin. Sometimes, birds get displaced by storms or when fleeing a predator, but they find their way home. Some birds migrate each year thousands of miles to a better environment with more food. They do so even the first year after birth. How do the birds accomplish this? Griffin diligently studied this ability. He dared suggest that birds might be using the sun, moon........

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