Donald Kroodsma is widely recognized as one of the leading authorities on bird song, not just the identification of birds by voice but also the interpretation of various sounds made by individual birds. His landmark book, The Singing Life of Birds, was awarded the prestigious John Burroughs Medal in 2006 as that year’s best new natural history book. Kroodsma brings this pedigree to two new companion volumes, both titled, The Backyard Birdsong Guide—one covering eastern and central North America, the other covering the west.
Each book begins with the same short introductory section, which provides a very good overview of bird sounds—why birds sing, where each bird gets its song, and an overview of the technique Kroodsma calls “deep listening.” Next come 75 species accounts in each book, each a two-page spread featuring a single, full-page illustration and a text page that includes a range map, habitat preferences, physical description, and an overview of the sounds made by the species. All but the sound overview seems a bit extraneous, as this isn’t a field guide and anyone wishing to study bird songs at the depth Kroodsma suggests must surely know these birds already.
The choice of the 75 species also strikes me as less than perfect. Thirty-one species are repeated in both the eastern and western books; combine this with the identical introductions and there’s really no need for anyone to purchase both volumes. The chosen species are those that the author considers most likely to be encountered close to human habitation. I probably would have preferred a selection of all native species, but admittedly there’s a lot that can be learned through the study of European Starlings and House Sparrows, two of the birds included in both books.
I’ve saved the most obvious feature of these books for last. Each book has an extended back cover onto which a battery-operated, black plastic listening device is attached. There’s a tiny plastic speaker and a digital collection of bird sounds matching the text. Look at the description of American Redstart in the eastern book, for example, and learn that track number 097 is an “Example of repeated daytime song with accented ending,” and that track 098 is, “Alternating songs of the dawn chorus.” This is a great idea, but the sound quality is very poor, and I found it very difficult to hear what Kroodsma describes in the text. The whole device looks a bit gimmicky, even suggesting that this is a children’s book. Big stickers stating, “Push and Listen” reinforce this misconception. Kroodsma’s thought-provoking text may have been better served with an accompanying CD which could produce much higher sound quality. There is a website devoted to the book, and this includes a few songs that can be heard in better quality and at greater length, but unless I navigated the site incorrectly there are only nine recordings from each book included. I excitedly clicked the link, “More Birdsongs,” only to discover an advertisement for two more books packaged with the same style of speaker, Bird Songs from Around the World and Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song.
Donald Kroodsma can offer excellent insights into bird song, and these books offer a nice overview, but the recorded sounds don’t adequately illustrate Kroodsma’s descriptions. Perhaps another edition will come with better sound recordings.
Kroodsma, Donald. The Backyard Birdsong Guide: Eastern and Central North America. San Francisco, Chronicle Books, 2008. 192 pages hardcover, $24.95. ISBN-13: 978-0-8118-6342-1.
Kroodsma, Donald. The Backyard Birdsong Guide: Western North America. San Francisco, Chronicle Books, 2008. 192 pages hardcover, $24.95. ISBN-13: 978-0-8118-6397-1.
To order a copy of a title reviewed on the Birder’s Bookshelf, please call CMBO’s Northwood Center (609)884-2736 or the Center for Research & Education (609)861-0700.