Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song

by Les Beletsky, Jon L. Dunn (Foreword)

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.

Genres: Birds, Reference, Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Animals, Field Guides

368 pages, Hardcover

First published September 21, 2006

Reviews

[lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a gift, one of the best I have ever gotten. It is essentially a limited encyclopedia, with a full color drawing, some facts about each bird, and this tiny player, embedded in the cover of the book, where you key in the number assigned to the bird, push the button and hear i's most common call. EXCELLENT.

[Liza · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorites are the calls of the Laughing Gull and the Bufflehead...hey, who are these scientists who get to name them birds, anyways?

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What fun this book was for my children and I! My only complaint is that there are no maps to show where the birds can be found.

[Neil Pasricha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine you had a secret giant room in your house that was full of trees and on those trees were 250 birds from around North America that you had trained to sing on command. American Goldfinch! Roseate Spoonbills! Cactus Wrens! And you could just point to any bird and they will start singing for you. That’s what this book feels like. It was my Father’s Day gift this year from my family. They know me well. We all love scrolling through the side buttons and listening to the song. Great one for any birder in your life.

[Jeff Brailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children's books have had digital voice players in them for some time. This book presents the songs of 250 different American birds and tells a bit about their their habits and habitats, migratory range and more. A very useful tool for the birder. I identified the call of a great horned owl in the back yard woods with it.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. I love reading and listening to birds.

[Chanelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this books at Costco and it is worth every penny I paid! Me and my kids love it.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sure, it's better to have a phone app that does this, but it's fun in book form.

[Brent Ranalli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good concept, and the audio component is excellent. But the book itself is deeply flawed. There are precious few hints for a reader who is actually interested in learning bird songs and identifying birds. There are no maps indicating ranges, for example. The table of contents, astonishingly, does not list the birds presented in the book. The principle upon which each of the four large "chapters" is organized is a mystery, and the chapter headers don't list contents either. That leaves the index, which is an utter disaster--in the tiniest of fonts, common names only, and good luck locating a phoebe or a wren or a swallow if you haven't already thought of all the adjectives that might begin its common name. (Looking for "blackbird"? Try under "red-winged" and "yellow-headed." Seriously.) And how hard would it have been to key the index to the audio numbering as well as the page numbering?

Each bird gets one (mostly empty) page to itself, and one rich illustration. This is essentially a coffee table book, suitable for idly flipping pages, with the audio thrown in as a novelty. Pretty. And pretty darn useless.

[Audrey Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few years ago a dear friend who knew our daughter adored (still does!) books and nature gave her the biggest, most beautiful bird book with a glossy photo page per bird! But... It also has a computer chip that also when you push the button gives the sound of the bird! I think EVERY home with children should have one!! Trust me... Well, worth the investment!
#We have had this book in a house of 3 school children, and it has been well loved and used in the last SEVEN years!
The "kids" were 13, 7 (Owner of Book) & 5 1/2.
We are JUST NOW noticing it needing new batteries soon!!
#Hint: 1. It stays on Mom's book shelf in living-room. 2. It never goes in bedrooms. 3. It lays flat on Floor, Table, Picnic Blanket... Never bent back across little legs to break the spine. 4. LAST ~ Only one person turns the pages so they don't tear in the excitement of pushing buttons. These worked perfect for us when they were young and taught them to respect books more and to recognize the beauty and importance of this book.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a gardener who enjoys birds, not a birdwatcher, so this book is perfect for me. It profiles 250 North American birds, providing a lovely colored pencil illustration for each, along with a brief description of habit, range and characteristics such as typical diet. The starring role however belongs to their songs. Each bird is matched to a recording from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology which can be played by pressing a button on the right hand side of the text. The song selection is easy to navigate (2 simple buttons, easier than my iPod) and the songs are simply gorgeous. As a gardener, I often hear birds rather than see them, so this is a way that I can work toward identifying some of these elusive creatures. Frankly, however, I just like to listen. Bravo!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't resist this book because not only are there are pretty pictures, there are buttons to push.

I definitely didn't commit any bird calls to memory, but I was surprised that I recognized many. I liked hearing which bird songs went with which birds, especially when very pretty or delicate birds made low, creepy noises.

This book was beautifully illustrated, simply laid-out and it was very easy to track back and forth through the recorded bird sounds. The quality of the recordings was also impressive, especially coming from a small, lousy speaker. There is also volume control, which I appreciated, but I still recommend reading this book in private to spare others the surprise of hearing a screech owl.

[Two Readers in Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bird keeps singing outside of your window. Who is s/he? I love the written word, but it just doesn’t do justice to birdsong (or foreign language pronunciation for that matter, but that is a story for another day.) The clever audio attachment to this book gives voice to the birds therein, and if that plus the gorgeous illustrations doesn’t help you solve the mystery, then perhaps nothing can. (Lagniappe: 1935 record of the song of the recently rediscovered Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.)

Great for ‘guess-this-bird’ games at ornithology-geek parties! If you have a dog, it will pay for itself in endless hours of bemused dog-ear-cocking entertainment.

And may the birds keep singing outside of your window…

[Jordi · Rating 3 out of 5]

in today's world of birding apps, I may be a little biased in my opinion. I enjoyed the drawings, though some were not too accurate (I'm comparing to Peterson, which isn't exactly fair, but I'm a huge osprey fan, and that drawing does NOT look like an osprey!) and the little info about each bird (I never knew that bluejays would eat other birds) . As for the bird songs, I only got to hear the first four (all grebes) before the thing died. I changed the battery to no avail. I think I would have given 4 stars if the sound actually worked. oh well.

[christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is and will continue to blow my mind!

My brother Benjamin gave this to me for my birthday, which is sort of unexpected,
as I wouldn't think as either of us a birders or bird affecinados. But it just does not matter,
this book is the best, most entertaining thing to play with for hours.
My 8 year old Lilly loves it allot as well! But then again who wouldn't?

[Dia Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A DELIGHT! Sometimes books can be so much more fun than the internet!

Especially when you can carry it out to the backyard or the woods with you! And play quizzes with your friends and family, too. ("guess this one!")

So cool that they've produced several more titles besides this one.

I'd love to hear/see/watch/read them all!

Great way to meet new people, by the way.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so helpful for those of us who don't necessarily luuuuv birds but want to have an idea of what we're listening to. Easy-to-use device plays back the bird calls and colorful plates describe and explain the breed. Is breed the right word? I don't know and don't really care, but I love that I know, by sound, that all the birds in the Wal-Mart parking lot are worthless.

[bookyeti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, and a treasure to own and use. I take it along with me whenever we go on our camping trips to identify and 'attract' the many birds in the National Park we visit. The descriptions about each bird and the lovely full-color drawings are a wonderful complement to the sounds of these amazing creatures. It is a favorite in my collection!

[Cory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it. Found in a library book store. I'm so happy; it just needed batteries. I wish it included the territory map for each bird, and the index could have easily been improved. For those reasons, I gave it 4 stars. The songs are excellent though, and I needed something like this for a long time to supplement my other bird books. It just wish it was slightly more field-friendly.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I should have a shelf that's called "ear-candy." The illustrations are great; the descriptions are minimal, but a good base for building knowledge upon. My only wish is that there could be more than one song-sample for each bird.

[Jess Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautifully illustrated, provides basic information on a large number of birds - organized into sections based upon the species habitat. bird songs are excellent quality. perfect for bird watchers, and nature enthusiasts.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've enjoyed this book and listening to the bird songs. We've liked trying to identify the birds we've heard around the house. The only reason I didn't give the book 5 stars is that it could have so easily been added to to make the book a bit more informative and user friendly.

[Mrs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neat book. Not in order like other bird guide books making it hard to locate specific birds without using the index. Too large/heavy to carry in the field, coffee table book. Smaller children really love it however.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous book! Need a few of them stocked in my craft studio because I will cut the birds out for crafting. They are beautifully illustrated and are larger than usual for a bird book. The paper is sturdy and slightly glossy.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of the coolest gifts i have ever gotten.

[cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly great if you love birds, but I bought it for my four-year-old and it's been in use for a year, reading for information, calls, etc. Very cool!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Playing the red-bellied woodpecker call seems to get the attention of the woodpecker that hangs out in our backyard.

[Jessica Kulp]

saw this at the book store today, i need it.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun book. My family has had a blast looking up the birds and listening to what they sound like. Great gift for the Fourth Day of Christmas!!

[Lisa Rooksby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the coolest books I have ever owned!