Review of THE PARROT IN THE MIRROR

Pondering interesting parallels between birds and humans

Humans have a pretty unique set of defining characteristics and behaviors. We form pair-bonds, raise offspring with lots of help, live for a very long time, and have unrivaled cognitive abilities. But these set of characteristics were already packaged in many species of birds before humans came on the scene a few million years ago.

Since birds (ahem, dinosaurs) have been around to tens of millions of years, and humans a mere couple millions of years, the question that arises is whether and why did humans evolve to be like birds. This package of traits is rare, but it must confer some kind of advantage. In The Parrot in the Mirror: How Evolving to Be Like Birds Makes Us Human, Antone Martinho-Truswell explores this tantalizing question.

The Parrot in the Mirror explores several similarities among birds broadly and parrots specifically, with humans focusing on four key traits. The first is longevity. Humans live a long time, even compared to our closest cousins, bonobos and chimpanzees, often nearly twice as long. Birds, especially for their size, also live a remarkably long time. This is part of the reason a pet parrot is much more of a commitment than a pet dog or cat.

Second is intelligence. Anyone who’s somewhat privy of animal research knows just how clever corvids can be, using tools to retrieve food, remembering humans, and the like. Humans by comparison are obviously known for our intelligence – no other species on the planet has manipulated their evolution, and harnessed cultural evolution in the way we have.

Finally, Martinho-Truswell explores the pair-bonding nature of humans and child rearing, especially with how needy and dependent our offspring are, and our communication via language (for us) as compared to song (for birds).

The Parrott in the Mirror explores an interesting question, but I couldn’t help but think it just didn’t go far enough in his exploration of the hypothesis. Observing trait similarities and describing them is interesting, but why those similarities exist despite radically different evolutionary environments is more interesting. What similar or different selection pressures gave rise to the similarities is such distantly related species? I was left with more questions than answers.

I also quibbled with some general information. At one point on page 64 he claimed “humans have 13-16 billion neurons in the average brain” that despite re-reading, checking cites and context, still have no clue why this statement was made. There also seemed to be missing understanding of sexual selection and the inherent reproductive differences between birds and humans that I felt mattered. Also no discussion of alloparenting models and the fact that paternal care across human societies is not universal.

Overall, The Parrot in the Mirror was a book with an interesting thesis, but one in which I felt was explored a bit too shallowly.

Published: June 2022

Format: Hardcover

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If you think this sounds interesting, bookmark these other great reads:

• A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution by Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson (2021)

• The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think by Jennifer Ackerman (2020)

• Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin (2008)

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