Page 20 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - November '24

Page 20, Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens
Book Review

What The Chicken Knows: what unrealized wonder “You have been detected. The ominous feet hurry now,

A New Appreciation Of The and beauty surrounds pounding the ground in a frenzy. There is no mistaking
us, all too often under-
it; this is a rooster on a rampage – the bane of many an
World’s Most Familiar Bird appreciated. otherwise peaceful barnyard.”
For those not
What to do? The answer, shockingly, is to pick it up
yet familiar with and cuddle it!
By Nils A, Shapiro Montgomery’ s
background, I should
All you need to know point out that she and her
is that the author is Sy author-historian husband,
Montgomery. Howard Mansfield, live
For millions of readers in New Hampshire and
around the world, and for decades have shared
I do mean millions, the their home’s property
name Sy Montgomery is from time to time with
associated with more than an assortment of animals, from their border collie dog,
35 books, many of which Thurber, to a pig that they raised from a tiny runt to 500-
have climbed the bestseller plus pound Volkswagen-sized Christopher Hogwood who
lists in 25 countries around the world – most describing wandered the town on his own getting handouts from
her exciting adventures with some of nature’s most the butcher, pet scratches from the kids and became the
fearsome creatures. subject of a bestselling book by Montgomery.
It is with good reason that the Boston Globe has But always among her favorites have been the small It is from Montgomery’s several decades of her own
described award-winning author Sy Montgomery as “a flock of egg-laying hens that she calls her “little ladies,” experience raising her “ladies,” many from chicks, plus
combination of Indiana Jones and Emily Dickinson” for who have their own chicken coop but are allowed free her roosters and all that she has studied about her ever-
the beautiful way in which she has written about such run of the backyard under the protection of several of the changing flocks, that she has filled the pages of this
experiences as being chased by a silverback gorilla in latest team of roosters. deceptively slim 96-page book with an extraordinary
Africa, hunted by man-eating tigers in India (National And one could not want a better protector than a number of surprising facts about the birds we all –
Geographic produced a TV special about that), worked rooster, as two episodes described by Montgomery make mistakenly – thought we knew.
in a pit with 18,000 snakes in Manitoba, swam with very clear: one in which a fox that had sneaked onto the Within the first few pages you will readily understand
piranhas and dolphins in the Amazon, studied octopuses property with chicken dinner in mind got the shock of why more families than you might imagine throughout the
in their Gulf of Mexico habitat for her classic National its life facing an angry, charging rooster and did a rapid nation enjoy the company of chickens (how many “pets”
Book Award finalist Soul of an Octopus, was undressed about-face … and another time, when Sy’s husband, offer the gift of eggs in return for their care?) and name each
by a wild orangutan, learned the art of falconry so she Howard, was lying on the ground repairing a lawnmower. of the birds in their precious feathered family members for
could hunt as a partner with one of the world’s most feared As she describes it: its individual personality, color or other physical feature.
predators … and too many more to touch on here. “Just beyond the narrow space between the grass and As she notes, some are shy, some more aggressive; some
So, I was more than a little surprised when I learned the machine’s metal undercarriage, movement catches affectionate, others aloof. Just like humans.
that Sy’s new book, published this month, is devoted to … your eye. Scaley reptilian, yellow feet, heavily armed with And they are smart! Here are just a few examples of
chickens! My first thought was, what could there possibly long, pointed claws – and, just above the toes, curved, the many surprises you will find in these pages. (Some
be to learn about these birds that all of us already know knife-sharp spurs – are purposefully striding toward text has been omitted for lack of space):
so well? you at face level. It feels like that scene from Jurassic • “In 2023, a study reported that roosters recognize their
How wrong I was! And how fortunate we all are Park, where the humans are hiding from the hunting own reflections in mirrors – common … measure of self-
to have so knowledgeable a guide as Sy Montgomery velociraptor – an animal from which, in fact, your avian
to enrich our lives once again in making us aware of assailant is descended. Book Review on page 21