Three main types of biotic interactions between individuals of different species exist in nature: competition, predation, and mutualism. All three exert powerful selection pressures, and all three shape communities. However, the true importance of interspecific competition in nature remains a controversial and unresolved question. For a Chats in the Stacks book talk at Mann Library on April 26, 2012, Dr. André Dhondt, the Edwin H. Morgens Professor of Ornithology at Cornell, discusses his new book "Interspecific Competition in Birds,” providing a critical review of the topic and highlighting the impact of both past and on-going interspecific competition on the coexistence of species. The lessons learned from such study are timely. As ecologists work to better understand the many factors that influence global biodiversity—and to better model the effects of climate change on populations—they may learn a great deal about species interactions from our feathered competitors.