Description
Book SynopsisAn RSPB audio and book guide to the birdsong of Britain's best known bird species. Birdsong is the natural soundtrack to our lives and can evoke a powerful sense of time, place and season. Often profoundly beautiful, it is also the most effective way to discover many birds, and birds' songs and calls reveal much about their lives and behaviour. But identifying which bird is making which sound can seem challenging. With this groundbreaking and easy-to-use RSPB guide, Adrian Thomas helps you learn and identify bird sounds step by step and at your own pace. Whether you are an experienced birdwatcher or just enjoy hearing the birds in your garden, this new guide will open your ears like never before to the amazing songs and calls around you. Together the book and CD combine to create an RSPB-endorsed sound guide to more than 100 songs and calls of 65 garden, woodland and farmland birds, and a reference section describes in detail the sounds of a further 185 birds of Britain and north
Trade ReviewAdrian’s knowledge of the science and majesty of birdsong resonates from every page as he tells how to recognise the vocalisations of 250 species, opening a new dimension of birdwatching to novice and expert. -- Stuart Winter * Sunday Express *
Adrian's descriptions of the sounds are excellent - far closer to the real thing and easier to remember than most field guides manage - but his own sonograms are a useful extra touch, and of course the CD (...) adds a very valuable extra dimension. -- Matt Merritt * Bird Watching *
Thomas's enthusiasm for his subject, as well as the sheer depth of his passionate knowledge, really shines through on every page. -- The Reviewer * English Garden *
It's easy to read, clearly illustrated and as someone with no musical knowledge makes essential reading. -- James Lidster * Birdwatch *
It contains the clearest descriptions I have read for understanding pitch, timbre, harmonics and overtones and for anyone struggling to learn bird calls and songs it's a great introduction and I suspect for many it might just be the book they need. -- James Lidster * Birdwatch *
Table of ContentsPart 1: An Introduction to Bird Songs and Calls Introduction How to use this guide What is sound? How do birds make noises? Types of bird sound How to describe bird sounds Reading sonograms What sounds to expect: Where and when? What to expect: Habitats Putting it all together Turning it into learning
Part 2: Guide to Common Bird Songs and Calls Towns and villages Woods and copses Upland woodland Farmland Reedbeds and marshes
Part 3: Reference Guide How to Record Bird Sounds Glossary References
Acknowledgements Sound Credits Photo Credits Track List Index
