Book Description
Drawing from the collection of the world-renowned Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Bird Songs presents the most notable North American birds including the rediscovered Ivory-billed Woodpecker in a stunning new format. Renowned bird biologist Les Beletsky provides a succinct description of each of the 250 birds profiled, with an emphasis on their distinctive songs. Lavish full-color illustrations accompany each account, while a sleek, built-in digital audio player holds 250 corresponding songs and calls. In his foreword, North American bird expert and distinguished natural historian Jon L. Dunn shares insights gained from a lifetime of passionate study. Complete with the most up-to-date and scientifically accurate information, Bird Songs is the first book to capture the enchantment of these beautiful birds in words, pictures, and song. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, located in Ithaca, New York, is a nonprofit institution focused on birds and whose mission is to interpret and conserve the earth's biological diversity through research. The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab is the major source of sound recordings of birds for research, education, conservation, the media, and commercial products.
Listen here
Trumpeter Swan
Laughing Gull
Eastern Bluebird
Customer Reviews:
perfect book for young and old.......2007-10-17
I bought this for my wife and my grand daughter. They love it and the sounds authentic and the book is easy to use.
Reading level: Ages 9-12 - I don't think so!?!.......2007-10-01
Great book for my coffee table for people to press the bird numbers. My favorite is the Northern Mockingbird, and my cats never fail to perk up their ears at it.
I've seen birds in my back yard react to different bird songs I played, so I can imagine that a lighter weight book would be great to take on field trips for attracting certain birds.
Some of the owls are eerie sounding, but I love owls (they eat mice, right?), so I play them often. There are others I haven't even heard of, not being a birder. But I'm handling the learning curve, and it's certainly fun!
Great for beginning birders.......2007-09-27
This is now our favorite coffee table book-- although we have to tear it out of the hands of guests in order to have conversation about something else. The sound is excellent. Gave a copy to my sister who also loves it.
Great book.......2007-09-27
Great book. The pictures and writeups for each bird are good and the sound is pretty good. I wish there were even more calls included for each bird. Great gift for any bird lover.
Cool Book!.......2007-09-26
It is true, the birds will respond if you play the songs outdoors-It caught the attention of many of the woodpeckers In my backyard..I know the birds by sight but needed help with the songs and calls and this is perfect! Great Idea for a book and a must for beginning birdwatchers or just birdlovers....
Book Description
BIRDING BY EAR uses an educational and entertaining method for learning bird songs. Instead of merely providing a catalog of bird song samples, BIRDING BY EAR actually teaches. This proven method has greatly enhanced the field experience for birders across North America. The authors have created learning groups of similar vocalizations and clearly point out distinguishing characteristics. Using techniques such as phonetics, mnemonics, and descriptive words, Walton and Lawson provide a context for learning the songs and calls of eighty-five species of birds found east of the Rockies. Combine the auditory instruction here with the visual features of the Peterson Identification System. Page numbers in BIRDING BY EAR's booklet refer to species descriptions in the PETERSON FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA, fifth edition.
Customer Reviews:
Birding by Ear.......2007-09-27
Great item. Good for listening to in your car. My wife loves it and we have used it to learn our birds in Alabama.
Not the only one you want to have.......2007-06-27
This is a good set of disks that groups bird songs by some feature of similarity. I never knew, for instance, that robins and scarlet tanagers sound so similar. The disks are quite good for helping you learn the differences between similar-sounding species. Keep after it and you will learn to distinguish Carolina from black-capped chickadees.
That said, I would not want this for my only set of bird songs, because if you want to listen to a specific bird, it's too hard to find without the booklet in your hands. Since I listen to these disks on my PC on the patio or my PDA & my MP3 player when I'm out walking or in the car, that is not convenient for me. I bought it in combination with the "Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs: Eastern Region" and am much more pleased with the combination than I would have been with this set alone.
Mind you, having the disks does not guarantee species identification. At this moment I'm sitting at the PC with the window to my suburban back yard open, listening to a low "chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck" that I canNOT find on either set of disks!
REALLY surpassed my expectations! You'll LOVE it!!!.......2007-05-11
I recently got interested in birding a few months ago and asked for this CD set for my birthday. My mom gave it to me and I couldn't believe how easy it made recognizing a LOT of different bird songs and calls. The narrator gives you a "handle" on each bird song so you can remember it easily, and he gives great suggestions on how to devise your own handles. Similar-sounding birds don't seem confusing after he explains the differences to listen for. He educates you, but doesn't include any unnecessary "filler" information, only what is important and what will really matter out in the field.
Before I listened to it, I thought the narration would just be someone saying, "This is the Orchard Oriole" with a short snippet of what one sounds like, then on to the next bird. But it was a great surprise to get all this extra information. He also repeats the songs several times so you don't have to constantly rewind, and he pauses for just the right amount of time between repetitions; I found that I learned the calls pretty fast if I had the right number of seconds to consider each one. Believe it or not, after several seconds you actually do start to forget what you just heard, but it was uncanny how at the very moment I'd start to forget, it would repeat, and that was very satisfying.
I never write reviews for anything, but on this particular product, I felt like the makers really needed to be commended for sharing their knowledge in such a thorough and extremely effective fashion. They obviously spent a lot of time deciding what to include, how to arrange everything, and how to explain everything to a novice so that they would understand. Real quality seems so rare these days. I appreciated the fact that their main objective was really to teach effectively, not just to put a CD together that would make money. You'll be way more excited about birding after you listen to these CDs.
Also I wanted to mention that the audio quality is absolutely superb. One time I started my car while the CD was in, and I didn't realize it was starting to play...I got really excited because I thought I heard a White-Throated Sparrow loud and clear right by my car, so I frantically screamed to my son that one must be RIGHT NEXT TO US SOMEWHERE!!! ... but then I realized it was the CD and I was so embarrassed.
My favorite ones to listen to are the Pileated Woodpecker, the Bobolink, the Red-Shouldered Hawk and the Barred Owl. These 4 birds sound extremely bizarre and you will probably laugh your head off at the sounds they make. The Bobolink sounds like a spastic alien computer switchboard. The Veery is unbelievably weird and haunting, and the Eastern Meadowlark and Northern Cardinal are really beautiful. There are lots of different song categories which are separated and easy to find if you are looking for a certain one. Also, if you have kids, their jaws will drop listening to the intriguing sounds. Most of the birds are pretty common so you are bound to hear at least some of them if you just walk around outside.
Can you tell I'm impressed?!!!
as expected.......2007-04-29
this cd is as expected, no surprise,no complaints.a good selection of birds have been packed into this.
Excellent Teaching Style.......2007-01-19
The narrator discusses each bird's song and/or call, telling you specific things to listen for, including comparisons to similar calls. Then the song/call is played. The narrator finally reviews what you heard, pointing out similarities and differences again, as well as noting peculiarities. I found this to be a very simple to follow format, and one which helped me to remember the songs/calls of each bird better than similar CD's which just give the name of the bird & then let you hear the song/call. A booklet is included for review as well.
Customer Reviews:
Stokes Field Guide To Bird Songs.......2007-08-23
This is the only CD that provides a complete repetoire per bird. Other CD's provide only one type of sound per bird- a call, alarm or song. You need to have a sampling of all in order to accurately identify unseen birds. I live in an important migratory bird path and until now it was frustrating trying to identify those birds in dense foliage or in flight when I could hear them much better than see them. Since I am familiar with birds most likely to visit my area, it makes identification even quicker since I first scroll to the species I suspect. I have both the Eastern and Western Field Guides since they both apply to me in Texas.
good set, very useful.......2007-06-27
I bought this set at the same time as "Birding by Ear: Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides)" and am quite happy with the combination. The Stokes CDs have (nearly) all the birds in separate tracks making it easier to play just the ones I want to work with. I'm new at bird songs, so I dumped the disks to my PC and made a subdirectory of "seen" birds. Then I copied to that directory all the birds that I've visually identified in the neighborhood so I can work on learning those to start. I've copied them to my PDA and MP3 player as well to play in the car and sitting at appointments and such. The individual tracks carry not just a bird's primary song but also its different calls if it has any.
The Petersen set takes a different approach. It's a good set of disks that groups bird songs by some feature of similarity. I never knew, for instance, that robins and scarlet tanagers sound so similar. The disks are quite good for helping you learn the differences between similar-sounding species. Keep after it and you will learn to distinguish Carolina from black-capped chickadees.
Mind you, having the disks does not guarantee species identification. At this moment I'm sitting at the PC with the window to my suburban back yard open, listening to a low "chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck" that I canNOT find on either set of disks!
Bird songs.......2007-06-07
This is a great product. Some of the bird calls I wouldn't have identified as coming from a bird! The bird is named before the call. Very clear sounds.
Drove the cat crazier..........2007-06-07
The bird calls are so realistic that Joplin, our demonic cat, goes wacko everytime we play this CD. I would recommend this set for anyone who wants to learn the language of our winged friends.
Birdjam Use.......2007-03-21
We needed this product to use with our iPod Birdjam program we have...it works perfectly
Book Description
This Audio CD is designed for anyone who wants to learn how to recognize bird songs. It features the sounds of 189 different bird species found in the Midwest and Northeast States.
Each bird song recording is followed by a short description of the sound along with a common mnemonic used to remember it. Many well-known song mnemonics such as "Who cooks for you?" for the Barred Owl and "Poor Sam Peabody" for the White-throated Sparrow are included. Following the song and mnemonic, the source of the sound is revealed. By naming the bird at the end of each track, the listener is allowed to wonder and guess at the nature of the sound. Active listening, similar to what one experiences in the field while searching for an unknown bird song, is a key to engaging the memory process.
One way to use this CD is to enable the "Random Play" or "Shuffle" option on a home CD player, portable stereo, or personal computer. Although it may be frustrating at first, repetition of this "quiz" game will quickly improve recognition skills. Gaining familiarity with these songs will greatly increase any bird watcher's enjoyment and awareness of birds in their natural habitat.
Features:
- 189 bird species found in the Midwest and Northeast states
- Digital bird song recordings made in Wisconsin
- Brief narration after each song includes descriptive, memorable and often funny mnemonics
- Can be used as a field guide to learn and identify songs or as a recognition quiz game
- Easy to use alphabetical track listing of all birds and their mnemonics
- It is a great gift for any birdwatcher, beginner or advanced.
- Total running time: 60 minutes
Customer Reviews:
Very good CD.......2007-08-21
After many years of bird watching I decided it was high time I learned to bird by ear.
I'm pretty familiar with the limited species that show up in my Southern California yard (House Finches, House Sparrows, Mourning Doves and Western Scrub Jays mostly).
I've purchased a few different CD's on birding by ear (including the Stokes CD's), but this is the one I like the best. I keep it in my CD player in the car so I can learn/study the bird songs while going to and from work each day.
I have noticed a slight regional accent in some of the birds that I'm familiar with, but it's not so significant that I don't recognise the House Sparrow or the House Finch when I hear it.
I highly recommend this CD to anyone who is trying to learn to bird by ear.
Great for newbies.......2007-06-07
I've lived on a farm or outside the city for most of my life, but never really bothered to figure out the different bird calls. After listening to this CD a couple of times, my wife and I can now pick out some of the different birds. The more calls we learn, the more fun it is to learn more.
Overly Short Songs Presented at Shotgun Speed.......2007-05-25
While the coverage of songs is thorough, the acoustic quality is not nearly as good as four other bird song CDs that I also recently purchased (Stokes - Eastern Region, Peterson Field Guide sets - Eastern, Songbirds Bible by Proctor, Common Bird Songs by Borror). Moreover, the songs are very short, with minimal repetition or variation. It is nice to have narration that follows the songs, so the listener has a chance to guess what type of bird sings each song. However, given that the songs are so short, and the pauses after the songs and before narration are even shorter, there is no time for an advanced beginner birder such as myself to reflect, or even spit out the answer instantaneously. Furthermore, the next song often starts virtually "on top" of the narration (which is little more than just the name of the bird), making it easy to associate the bird name with the wrong song (ie, the song that follows narration rather than the song that precedes).
excellent for beginning and intermediate birders.......2006-08-01
The alphabetical indexing is excellent for those who have not mastered the taxanomic order as found in most lists and books. The presentation of the song before the identification is useful in honing ones ears. Would like it to be longer than the ~110 species presented.
By far the best bird song training & review guide.......2006-07-10
This is an outstanding CD for learning bird songs. Each song starts with the bird song and then the narrator describes the song and provides a short phrase or description that aids you with identifying it, followed again with the essence of the song. This format allows you to quiz yourself. I bought my first copy two years ago and have bought 5 more to give to friends since then. Everyone has commented that its a great guide. I own several other guides including Birding by Ear and More Birding by Ear and this is by far my favorite.
Customer Reviews:
This is the one to buy.......2007-08-25
There is a pretty limited selection when it comes to birding sound cds. This is a good choice because each bird is given about 30 seconds of calls. I placed the entire cd into my iTunes library, then downloaded them into my iPod for field use. Really, calls and songs are the only sure way to identify birds when the bird could be one of several that look alike. (as most do).
Excellent guide to bird sounds.......2007-08-06
The only critique I have is that some of the western birds are not in this guide. They are in the eastern guide. You actually need them both. I highly recommend this set of guides.
Birdjam Use.......2007-03-21
We needed this CD to work with the iPod BirdJam program we have...it works perfectly.
Most thorough........2007-01-11
I purchased both sets of these. I bought them to use with the new birdpod software. That combo (ipod / Birdpod / Stokes) is a great new birding tool. Nonetheless, this set seems to cover more species than anyone else. And that's what I was lookong for. For the most part sound quality is great.
Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs: Western Region.......2006-07-17
I like the selection of songs that are avaliable. They are well recorded and there duration is fine.
I don't much care for the way that some of the tracks are put together with each other. Example: Track 32, a, b & c. You have to go through the preceding tracks on that paticular one to get the one you want. It would be easier to use if each one had it's own. Just track 32,33,34 etc.
Book Description
A Field Guide to Bird Songs is the best-selling collection of bird songs ever recorded. It includes the songs and calls of 267 species - all the most common and vocal birds found east of the Rockies. Organized as a companion to Roger Tory Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America, fifth edition, this is the "birder's bible" of bird song.
Customer Reviews:
Not for a beginner.......2007-10-03
On the positive side, there are a LOT of different bird songs recorded in this cd. It would be much more user-friendly, however, if each track contained only one bird. The sheer number of different bird songs, combined with the not-so-convenient access to individual bird songs, makes this cd more appropriate as a comprehensive reference for use with the written field guide, or perhaps a field guide for someone already an expert, rather than a usable field guide for a more casual birder. Not something I would recommend if you simply want a cd that will help you recognize common bird songs as you are walking through the woods.
Bird Songs on a CD.......2007-05-16
A good CD and helpful index booklet. A booklet with color pictures of the male and female birds would be a helpful option even if it was at an additional cost.
Field Guide for Song birds.......2007-05-15
An interesting compilation of songbird sounds along with the name of each bird. Does not go into the wide variation of song that many birds are capable of, eg. the Carolina Wren. Somewhat helpful as an addition to Peterson's field guide to birds.
Helpful audio CD.......2007-03-22
I researched for the audio cd to identify bird songs. Peterson Field Guides five star rated cd met all the requirements i wanted. This is not soothing new age background music, but an educational tool for beginning birders like myself. Even while multitasking along w/ listening, it is very educational. Try loading the songs on your computer or ipod & see how quickly you will recognize.
Field Guide to Bird Songs: Eastern and Central N.America.......2007-02-04
Great resource for learning to recognize various songs and calls of hundreds of birds.
Average customer rating:
- Special
- Fairly Inspiring
- Spiritual and Entertaining
- This book has influenced much of my life
- DEEP thoughts from all over
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The Song of the Bird
Anthony De Mello
Manufacturer: Image
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Awareness
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The Way to Love (Image Pocket Classics)
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ASIN: 0385196156
Release Date: 1984-08-21 |
Book Description
Anthony de Mello shares 124 stories from a variety of traditions, both ancient and modern, using the age-old medium of parable to illustrate profound contemporary realities about our everyday concerns and our common spiritual quest.
Customer Reviews:
Special.......2007-08-15
My mom gave me this book about 10 years ago. It's all tattered now but even more loveable. This book is for everyone, of all traditions, faiths, paths and walks of life. It's the kind of book that you come across while doing something else and when you open it a story speaks to you. This is a special book!
Fairly Inspiring.......2007-07-24
Overall, I like the book, but I guess I was hoping for more inspirational parables and sayings. As a yoga instructor, I have used some of the parables as my participants lay in savasana. I have gotten good feedback from them.
Spiritual and Entertaining.......2007-04-10
For those interested in opening their heart, this is a very good book which gets you to look at things with your heart and not your mind. For those just looking for a good and entertaining read, this is also very good.
This book has influenced much of my life.......2007-01-28
I recieved this book from a Catholic priest in 1986, shortly after it was published. The Song of the Bird is simply a collection of one and two page stories, often told by masters of spiritual wisdom. I still refer to many of the stories and once a year or so reread some of them. I was in bible study 3 mornings ago and we were talking about how to pray. How silly it seems to have a mnemonic such as "ACTS" to pray. I recalled and related to the group the story of a priest who went to a tiny remote island in order to teach a couple of the solated monks there how to pray. He took them out in his boat and started by asking what they knew. They were deeply peaceful men. They recanted their version of the Lord's Prayer, full of misverbage and some nonsense. The priest chastized them and corrected their errors. They felt badly that they had been praying wrong, and walked on water, back to the shore, where they might practice how to pray correctly.
Every story is simply timeless.
DEEP thoughts from all over.......2007-01-19
I am a faith based counselor and this book of stories from multiple cultures and faiths is invaluable to exercise your mind in spiritual matters.
I have worn this book with my own notes, after the authors reflections, and have shared with hundreds of people the morals and experience of this book. I have bought another to use at work and my original is my life note pad.
At times the authors reflections are too brief and the stories seem to end too soon, but they are all to be taken in the three levels of Entertainment, Reflection or Deep Meaning. However, it is your choice how you choose to understand these stories.
Book Description
A continuation of the successful BIRDING BY EAR system for learning bird songs. Just as the original BIRDING BY EAR audio introduces listeners to a unique method of learning and remembering bird songs, MORE BIRDING BY EAR employs these proven techniques for ninety-six additional species of birds found east of the Rockies. Walton and Lawson have created learning groups of similar vocalizations and clearly point out distinguishing characteristics, using phonetics, mnemonics, and other memory aids. MORE BIRDING BY EAR will increase your skill and enjoyment in the field by helping you learn the vocalizations of twenty-five species of warblers, all of the North American rails, and an assortment of terns, other waterbirds, and passerines. Many shorebird call notes are also included. Combine the auditory instruction here with the visual features of the Peterson Identification System. Page numbers in MORE BIRDING BY EAR's booklet refer to species descriptions in the PETERSON FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA, fifth edition.
Customer Reviews:
big help.......2007-05-14
this CD is perfect, it is a compliment to Birding by Ear and having both of these is invaluable to learning the calls of the birds I see and hear in my area. I had heard the CD at my local Audabon shop and almost bought them there, Amazon was $10. cheaper and I bought both CD's. They are a joy to listen to and are very helpful to me.
For the Hard Core Bird Lover.......2007-01-11
I purchased the Birding by Ear cd collection as well as this one. I prefer the first, simply because it features more of my favorite bird friends; however, this, like the first one, is set up in a very easy to listen to and learn manner. Very soothing voice along with the song bird calls and songs - how can you go wrong?
Quick, three beers!.......2005-07-13
I've been listening to the predecessor of "More Birding by Ear," i.e. "Birding by Ear (Eastern and Central North America)" for over a year now, and the music-processing regions in my brain are finally sorting the symphony of bird song in the woods and swamps around our house into individual melodies. I strongly recommend that you start with Walton and Lawson's "Birding by Ear" as it has recorded the songs and calls of eighty-five common species. "More Birding by Ear" provides recordings of ninety-six additional Eastern and Central North American species, many of them, such as the shore birds, not often heard outside of their specialized habitats.
For most people, bird calls may produce nothing more than a song that is hard to get out of the head. These two three-CD sets will help them make sense of those songs. I was so encouraged by the calls I had learned from these CDs that I signed up as a volunteer for the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas. So far I've identified forty-one birds in my 'priority block,' many of them by song alone.
I don't know whether I'll actually ever see a Red-eyed Vireo, an Oven Bird, or a Veery but I hear them almost every day now, calling from the forest canopy or deep in the swamp, or echoing eerily down the river at dusk.
Yet oddly enough, once I've identified a bird call on the CD, such as "More Birding by Ear's" Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, I begin to see Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers everywhere. Location by song must be giving my eyes a kick start. Now I'm beginning to suspect they're one of the commonest woodpeckers in our neighborhood!
The narrative that accompanies the bird song on these CDs will both entertain and inform you. Who will ever be able to forget the song of the Olive-Sided Flycatcher once it is translated into the catch-phrase, "Quick, three beers!"
If you're serious about your birding, and want to identify birds by song, as well as by binoculars and field guides, these CDs are priceless.
VERY HELPFUL.......2004-10-15
MORE BIRDING BY EAR is the follow-up to BIRDING BY EAR. BIRDING BY EAR presented 85 species of birds. MORE BIRDING BY EAR presents 96 additional species. MORE BIRDING BY EAR follows the same format as BIRDING BY EAR. Species are grouped according to similar types of vocalizations. Primary songs and calls are presented. In some cases, other songs and calls are also presented. Vocalizations are analyzed, and comparisons are made to other, similar sounding birds. Phonetics and tips are suggested to help the listener to remember the vocalizations. It is suggested that you complete BIRDING BY EAR before going on to MORE BIRDING BY EAR.
Species included in More Birding by Ear are:
DISK 1: Sora, Virginia Rail, Clapper Rail, King Rail, Yellow Rail, Black Rail, Pied-billed Grebe, Least Bittern, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, Marsh Wren, Least Flycatcher, Acadian Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Winter Wren, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Common Nighthawk, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Evening Grosbeak, Osprey, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Fish Crow, Common Raven, Swainson's Thrush, Bicknell's Thrush, Boat-tailed Grackle, Rusty Blackbird, American Pipit, Horned Lark.
DISK 2: Prairie Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Palm Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Louisiana Waterthrush, Swainson's Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Canada Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Savannah Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Bachman's Sparrow, Henslow's Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Common Loon, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Blue-headed Vireo.
DISK 3: Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Black-Bellied Plover, American Golden-Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Upland Sandpiper, Willet, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Sanderling, Pectoral Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Royal Tern, Caspian Tern, Common Tern, Forster's Tern, Least Tern.
At the end of DISK 3 is a "test." All 96 species are grouped by habitat. The songs and calls are presented, but in a different order from the learning groups. The listener is not told which bird he is listening to. This can be frustrating at first, but is also a good way to learn. I found that the first few times through, I missed practically all of them. But bit-by-bit, I began to identify some of the calls. As I mastered more of the calls, it became easier and easier for me to identify the remaining ones.
Book Description
This book-audio package provides a unique introduction to fifty of the most familiar birds of North America and the songs they sing. Each bird is described in vivid detail - its natural history, habitat, voice, range, and field marks - and illustrated in stunning color photographs. Range maps show where each species is found in different seasons. The audio CD features original high-quality field recordings of each bird's songs and calls, which are track-coded for easy access. Common Birds and Their Songs will be valuable to anyone interested in birds, from beginner to expert. It's the perfect gift for any birder - or anyone with a bird feeder.
Customer Reviews:
Great for all bird watchers.......2006-08-19
I am a budding bird-watching enthusiast and this is the first book I have purchased. I love it! I do wish it covered more birds, but the descriptions of the birds it does include are very informative. The photographs are some of the best I've seen!!! The CD is also great for beginners because you never really realize how many of those calls are familiar to you until you hear them with a name. I know now there are Baltimore Orioles near my house (though I've never seen them) because I hear that very distinct call all the time! Now I've put out special food for them and I'll just have to wait and see!!! I recommend this book and CD to all - especially beginners like myself!!!
Excellent Resource for Beginning Birders.......2006-08-15
As a new initiate into the world of birding, I found this book and audio cd to be very helpful in identifying bird songs. A numbered list of cd tracks is provided in the book, enabling the listener to skip to the songs they want to hear on the cd. The book is informative and includes beautiful photographs of each species. I love it and highly recommend it.
Photos, Info and song...........2006-03-20
I am new to serious birdwatching, but already own half a dozen books on North American birds. I find this book and companion CD especially nice because of it's portability and ease of use. The photographs are clear, and the information concise. The songs of the birds are likewise, and if you have a cat, you will amuse them along with yourself as you listen...
Great beginners bird guide.......2002-04-15
Though I was surprised to receive such a small sized book, the picures are beautiful and the lessons very helpful. I am new to birding and have no doubt I can improve my bird identification with the help of this CD and guidebook. I do wish the veery and phoebe were included. Great book for anyone wishing to learn which bird goes with which song. So much fun! Would highly recommend. I'm thrilled.
Great Photos, Great Gift, Great Intro to Common Birds.......2002-01-20
"Common Birds and their Songs" is like a mini-coffeetable book (though it is softbound) with beautiful color photographs by Marie Read, and a page of text on each of 50 birds, which are grouped into 5 categories: Backyard/City, Countryside, Wetland, & Forest. The CD is a straightforward presentation from each species.
This makes a great gift for the bird/nature lover and its worth getting as many of Lang Elliott's tapes are hard to find.
Also recommended: "Know Your Bird Sounds Vol. I & II" and "Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs".
Book Description
The Songs of Wild Birds is a unique introduction to the voices of more than fifty native birds. Along with beautiful songbirds, the book features owls, rails, bitterns, snipe, and a host of lesser-known birds that make strange, curious, or bizarre sounds. The informative text and outstanding photographs are accompanied by memory phrases and sonagrams that provide phonetic and visual representations of songs. In fifty essays, Lang Elliott shares his favorite stories about these birds, with emphasis on the unusual aspects of their singing or calling behavior. The accompanying sixty-five-minute audio compact disc presents samples of all the songs and calls discussed, along with narrated introductions by the author.
Customer Reviews:
Listening as well as watching.......2007-05-12
Full page photos of numerous birds are faced by a page of details. What makes this item extra special is the included CD with the call or song of each bird. It's a rare treat to see, hear and read the why's of each bird. It's great.
Excellent for Learning Bird Calls.......2007-04-08
The quality of the sound on the CD, and the photos are excellent. Our dog and cat thought we were playing the CD for them! Only wish it covered more than 50 birds.
Lang Elliott at his best.......2007-03-15
The Songs of Wild Birds by Lang Elliott gives us glimpses not only into the romantic lives of birds, but into the author's life as well. Lang Elliott serves up a sumptious package: lucid, engaging, and informative text, knock-out photos, and a CD to listen to over and over again. Elliott takes the academic study of bird songs and broadens it to include the aesthetic. Bravo!
Songs of Wild Birds beautiful and fascinating.......2007-03-09
The close-up photos of wild birds in this book are simply breath-taking. It is not just a coffee-table book, though. The text conveys interesting information--even for someone who is well-read in ornithological literature--and the CD is superbly done. These are not the typical bird i.d. recordings, but carefully selected cuts which sometimes include rarely heard songs and calls.
Full review at www.birdaz.com/blog.......2006-12-30
Lang Elliott is among the best and best-known recordists of birdsong in North America. His new book, The Songs of Wild Birds, is a combination of words, images, and often spectacular sounds that will delight and intrigue birders and non-birders alike.
I particularly enjoyed the eery "quartet" performed by trilling Eastern Screech-Owls; the juxtaposition of eastern and western Winter Wren vocalizations is extremely informative and useful, as are the illustrations of dialect differences in White-crowned Sparrows.
Books:
- Birding by Ear: Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides(R))
- Birding by Ear: Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides(R))
- Birds in Brazil
- Birds in Brazil
- Birds (National Audubon Society First Field Guides)
- Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives
- Birds of Prey
- Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays
- Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays
- Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (Penguin Classics)
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