The Singing Life of Birds - The Art and Science of Listening to Birdsong By Donald Kroodsma
Ready to learn a new language? Even if you can’t tell a dove from an owl call, this intense, in-depth book will introduce you to a whole new dimension in bird and nature appreciation. Read this book from cover to cover, listen to the CD, and you’ll feel as though you’ve taken a graduate level course. A course that you’d gladly sign up for over and over again.
From the publisher:
“The Singing Life of Birds is a fascinating read for anyone who yearns to understand the hidden dramas unfolding in his or her own back yard. Through highly personal stories, Donald Kroodsma puts the reader inside the mind of a research scientist to explore how and why birds sing and how we can better understand them through their songs. He deals with such questions as: How does an individual acquire its songs—are they innate and encoded in the DNA, or are they learned—and why? How and why do songs of individuals differ from place to place? Why do birds expend so much effort in singing, often with such complex or beautiful songs? And why does only the male usually sing? Read about robins and wrens, whippoorwills and woodcocks, thrushes and thrashers, flycatchers and sparrows, and many others as Kroodsma reveals the singing lives of birds.
The book includes a compact disc with recordings that have been carefully chosen to illustrate how, when, why, and where birds sing, and to encourage readers to listen with an inquisitive mind.
Hardcover + compact disc, 448 pages, 7 x 9 inches, b&w illustrations, April 2005 "
