For a few decades, Yamagishi and his associates have studied the ecological and social behavior of the rufous, a unique species of birds in Madagascar. In this volume, the team summarizes the findings of their long-term research, with specific observations about cooperative breeding, sex ratio manipulation, foraging and helping behavior. The authors demonstrate the implications of the study for theories of evolution, genetic inheritance and group formation.

About Editors and Authors

YAMAGISHI Satoshi is a Japanese ornithologist who is Honorary Director General of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology. He graduated from the Department of Natural Science, Faculty of Education, Shinshu University, in 1961 and completed a PhD at Kyoto University in 1977. He has previously served as Professor in the Faculty of Science, Osaka City University, and as Professor in the Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University. He was President of the Ornithological Society of Japan from 1993 to 1997, and in 2002 he went on to become Director General of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology.