Know Your Bird Sounds, Volume 1: Yard, Garden, and City Birds
by Lang Elliott, NatureSound Studio

Learn the languages of 35 common backyard and city birds with this unique 65-minute audio guide and accompanying 48-page booklet. This superb collection of field recordings gives the listener unparalleled soundprints of the voices of 35 well-known birds of residential settings, city parks, and urban areas of eastern and central North America. Detailed coverage of each species' sound repertoire, including songs and a variety of calls, makes this guide an indispensable aid for both novice and experienced bird enthusiasts.

Each sound category on the audio is identified and described with a short, narrative introduction. The companion booklet provides a detailed description of each bird's repertoire, including information describing the meaning of each sound.

65-minute audio with 48-page booklet
Cassette version suggested retail: $12.95
Compact Disc version suggested retail: $16.95

See below for ordering information and list of species.

Below is a RealAudio soundfile optimized for clean playback of the bird sounds over a 28.8 modem (sorry, but the narrative will sound a little wierd). To play this file, you will need a recent version of the RealPlayer.

Northern Oriole (RealAudio segment from guide + booklet text)

Song (both sexes): The song of the oriole is mde up of rich, slurred whistles that have a distinctive quality that is easy to learn. Some songs contain one or more harsh notes. Each bird has a stereotyped song pattern, but may vary song length. Feamles occasionally sing during the courtship phase.

Whistle Calls (both sexes): Single-note, double-note, or three-note whistles are given by orioles in a variety of situations and may serve as contact calls. Such whistles often occur between songs and might be considered song fragments.

Rapid Chatter and Gee-Gee Call (both sexes): When alarmed or otherwise aroused, orioles produce harsh, scolding calls. One type, often given during encounters between orioles, is a variable gee-gee-gee-gee. Another common arousal call is a harsh, rapid chatter, often given when the nest is threatened. These two call types seem to intergrade.

Fledgling Calls (both sexes): After leaving the nest, immature orioles make loud, nasal calls sounding like dee-dee-dee-dee. These calls are thought to alert the parents to the whereabouts of youngsters and stimulate them to bring food.

ORDERING INFORMATION: NOTE: This guide is currently out of print due to bankruptcy of the publisher, NorthSound Music. It will be republished this spring as a full-color book with CD by Stackpole Books, available in early March (www.stackpolebooks.com).

List of 35 species covered in this guide:

American Robin
Northern Cardinal
Northern Oriole
Orchard Oriole
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Cedar Waxwing
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Blue Jay
American Crow
Chimney Swift
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Purple Martin
European Starling
Warbling Vireo
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
House Sparrow
House Finch
Purple Finch

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