Birdsong by the Season: A Year of Listening to Birds

by Donald Kroodsma

Birdsong by the Seasons is a celebration of birdsong from January through December. The stories begin with a pileated woodpecker on New Year's Day; they unfold through the year, covering limpkins and scrub-jays in February in Florida, prairie birds in May, Scarlet Tanagers in July, and ending with a chorus of singing birds in Massachusetts just before Christmas. Readers get inside the mind of a scientist and see how answers only lead to more questions. Kroodsma provides a unique experience: with his gentle guidance, the pairing of sonagrams with the audio CDs make birdsong accessible and fascinating.

Genres: Birds, Nonfiction, Nature, Natural History, Animals

366 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 2009

Reviews

[Mike Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent treatment of bird song for the novice bird watcher.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Birdsong by the Seasons: A Year of Listening to Birds by Donald E. Kroodsma (Houghton Miflin Harcourt 2007) (598.259+/-). Stories that celebrate birds are told as the author introduces the reader to different birds as they pass through the author's listening post. My rating: 7/10, finished 2008.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked listening to the recordings, but if you're not into birds, this is not a book for you. I was jealous that this guy could just take a year, go look at and record all sorts of amazing birds. Sounds like a nice retirement idea.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this but got bogged down. I would like to try again and actually listen to the accompanying CD as is recommended. I won't be reading this anytime soon, though. I'll just put it back on my To Read shelf for now.

[Louise Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just bought this at Tattered Cover where it was priced as a bargain. I asked and apparently the publishers send some at a bargain price for the booksellers. This became my birthday present. Yippee!

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of fascinating tidbits about roosting and singing birds, but a bit random as many natural history books tend to be.