Page 10 - Palm City Spotlight - November '24

Page 10, Palm City Spotlight

BooK review

What The Chicken Knows: was lying on the ground
repairing a lawnmower. As
A New Appreciation Of The she describes it:
World’s Most Familiar Bird “J ust be y ond t he
narrow space between the
grass and the machine’s
By Nils A. Shapiro metal undercarriage,
All you need to know movement catches your
is that the author is Sy eye. Scaley reptilian,
Montgomery. yellow feet, heavily armed
For millions of readers with long, pointed claws
around the world, and – and, just above the toes,
I do mean millions, the curved, knife-sharp spurs
name Sy Montgomery is – are purposefully striding
associated with more than toward you at face level. It feels like that scene from
35 books, many of which Jurassic Park, where the humans are hiding from the hens, for example, will alert them to whether an enemy is
have climbed the bestseller hunting velociraptor – an animal from which, in fact, your approaching by ground or from the air!
lists in 25 countries around avian assailant is descended. There is hardly a page without an eye-opening surprise:
the world – most describing her exciting adventures with “You have been detected. The ominous feet hurry now, “The disturbing fact that, on the way to the soup pot, a
some of nature’s most fearsome creatures. pounding the ground in a frenzy. There is no mistaking chicken can continue to run around after decapitation does
It is with good reason that the Boston Globe has it; this is a rooster on a rampage – the bane of many an little to bolster appreciation for the species’ more refined
described award-winning author Sy Montgomery as “a otherwise peaceful barnyard.” traits. In fact, one rooster was able to live for 18 months
combination of Indiana Jones and Emily Dickinson” for What to do? The answer, shockingly, is to pick it up after his head was cut off. Farmer Lloyd Olsen, hoping to
the beautiful way in which she has written about such and cuddle it! please his visiting mother-in-law, who particularly savored
experiences as being chased by a silverback gorilla in It is from Montgomery’s several decades of her own boiled chicken neck, failed to kill the rooster when his axe
Africa, hunted by man-eating tigers in India (National experience raising her “ladies,” many from chicks, plus missed the bird’s carotid artery and left one ear and most
Geographic produced a TV special about that), worked in her roosters and all that she has studied about her ever- of the brain stem intact. Not only did the victim survive, but
a pit with 18,000 snakes in Manitoba, swam with piranhas changing flocks, that she has filled the pages of this he grew from two and a half pounds to eight and attained
and dolphins in the Amazon, studied octopuses in their deceptively slim 96-page book with an extraordinary national fame as Mike the Headless Chicken from 1945
Gulf of Mexico habitat for her classic National Book number of surprising facts about the birds we all – to 1947.”
Award finalist Soul of an Octopus, was undressed by a wild mistakenly – thought we knew. For me personally, as I turned the last page of
orangutan, learned the art of falconry so she could hunt as Within the first few pages you will readily understand What the Chicken Knows, one thought struck me most
a partner with one of the world’s most feared predators … why more families than you might imagine throughout the poignantly: Ever thoughtful and considerate of her readers,
and too many more to touch on here. nation enjoy the company of chickens (how many “pets” Montgomery has kept this book’s focus entirely on helping
So, I was more than a little surprised when I learned offer the gift of eggs in return for their care?) and name each us to better understand and enjoy the fascinating and fun
that Sy’s new book, published this month, is devoted to … of the birds in their precious feathered family members for facts about these remarkable birds who are so much a part
chickens! My first thought was, what could there possibly its individual personality, color or other physical feature. of our lives.
be to learn about these birds that all of us already know As she notes, some are shy, some more aggressive; some Not once in these pages does this author mention that
so well? affectionate, others aloof. Just like humans. she herself is a vegetarian, nor does she devote a single
How wrong I was! And how fortunate we all are to And they are smart! Here are just a few examples of sentence to the suffering of these sentient creatures from
have so knowledgeable a guide as Sy Montgomery to the many surprises you will find in these pages. (Some the cruelty of the factory-like poultry industry. It was not
enrich our lives once again in making us aware of what text has been omitted for lack of space): her purpose in writing this book.
unrealized wonder and beauty surrounds us, all too often • “In 2023, a study reported that roosters recognize their Sparing us such a balanced narrative is her gift to this
under-appreciated. own reflections in mirrors – common … measure of self- book’s readers despite what I know to be her own deep
For those not yet familiar with Montgomery’s awareness. Previous experiments show that apes, like feelings on the subject, having read and reviewed half a
background, I should point out that she and her author- humans, do this.” dozen of her earlier books.
historian husband, Howard Mansfield, live in New • “Only hours after leaving the egg they are able to walk, As a senior now, I realize that if this book had been written
Hampshire and for decades have shared their home’s run and peck.” (An adult chicken can run as fast as nine decades ago it might have been a life-changing experience in
property from time to time with an assortment of animals, miles an hour!) one sense for me. Perhaps it’s not too late. I hear those plant-
from their border collie dog, Thurber, to a pig that they • “Relationships are important to them. The average based burgers and other meat substitutes are pretty good …
raised from a tiny runt to 500-plus pound Volkswagen- chicken can recognize more than 100 other chickens. and I would feel so good about myself.
sized Christopher Hogwood who wandered the town on They can remember the past and anticipate the future, and I strongly suggest you lay your hands on a copy of this
his own getting handouts from the butcher, pet scratches they communicate specific information through at least book as soon as possible … even if you have to scramble
from the kids and became the subject of a bestselling book 24 distinct calls.” A warning signal from a rooster to his to get it!
by Montgomery.
But always among her favorites have been the small
flock of egg-laying hens that she calls her “little ladies,”
who have their own chicken coop but are allowed free
run of the backyard under the protection of several of the
latest team of roosters.
And one could not want a better protector than a
rooster, as two episodes described by Montgomery make
very clear: one in which a fox that had sneaked onto the
property with chicken dinner in mind got the shock of its
life facing an angry, charging rooster and did a rapid about-
face … and another time, when Sy’s husband, Howard,

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