Synopses & Reviews
Birding by ear has become more popular than ever as a way of locating
and identifying birds. World renowned for his extensive collection of
bird song recordings, Lang Elliott has selected songs of fifty North American
birds for his new book, which follows on the heels of his acclaimed
Music of the Birds. More than just a teaching tool, these recordings are fascinating
to listen to. Many birds have unique or unusual sound-making
behaviors, such as the flight song of the ovenbird, the dawn song of the
eastern wood-pewee, and the duetting between males and females of
many species. Elliott writes about his exploits recording these sounds and
includes his favorite stories about the birds. For each species, a short
essay accompanies a gorgeous color photograph and sonagrams of the
vocalizations.
The package includes a seventy-minute CD with samples of all the
songs and calls discussed, along with brief narrated introductions by
the author. Relaxing dawn chorus soundscapes without narration are
included at the end.
Synopsis
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.
About the Author
Lang Elliott, a renowned photographer of birds, is the founder of the Nature Sound Studio and the author of many audio guides to wildlife sounds. He lives in Ithaca, New York.
Table of Contents
Contents Foreword and#151; 8 Preface and#151; 11 About Sonagrams and#151; 12 The Compact Disc and#151; 14 The Fifty Essays and#151; 15 All About Bird Sounds and#151; 116 Acknowledgments and#151; 121 Sources and Further Reading and#151; 122 Photo Credits and#151; 126 The Sound Recordings and#151; 127 Index and#151;128