Table Of Content-
ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE 125
ison to other species covered by the guide. “Red-necked Grebe lacks the abnormally
The accounts also contain the headings Sil- elongated appearance of Great Crested Grebe
houette and Flight and Flocking. These key and is a more compact and chubbier bird,”
features make this guide particularly suited for but many North American birders are not fa-
seabird watching. Again, comparatives are miliar with Great Crested Grebe Podiceps
(
used liberally throughout these sections. cristatus). Finally, some species that are fairly
A nice touch is that the authors apparently regular on the U.S. side of the Atlantic are
were not enslaved by format. A Note, Voice, treated with minor descriptions and no photos
Subspecies, and/or Geographical Variation (e.g., Canvasback [Aythya valisineria and
]
section appears at the end of each species ac- Redhead [A. americana]) or descriptions are
count, as warranted. Forexample, itwould not missing altogether (e.g., Black Skimmer
have been very useful to include a description [Rhynchops niger]). Overall, however, this
of Fea’s Petrel (Pterodroma feae) vocaliza- book is worthwhile to those who spend time,
tions, but it is very appropriate that one is in- or would like to spend time, watching the
cluded for Canada Goose (Branta canaden- spectacle of—seabird migration along the At-
sis). Notes include information such as addi- lantic coast. PAUL A. GURIS, See Life
tional identification points, the possibility of Paulagics, Green Lane, Pennsylvania; e-mail:
hybrids, the possibility of escapees, and com- [email protected]
parisons with other species that, while very
rare to the region and not covered in the book,
are still possible.
Multiple photographs, all of birds in flight, THE SINGING LIFE OF BIRDS: THE
of course, accompany almost every species ART AND SCIENCE OF LISTENING TO
account. For those who have become used to BIRDSONG. By Donald E. Kroodsma, illus-
the stellar bird photos that have cropped up trated by Nancy Haver. Houghton Mifflin
everywhere these days, some of the photos Company, Boston, Massachusetts and New
might seem to be of substandard quality. York, New York. 2005: 482 pp., 68 figures,
Many are quite good, but even the more-dis- CD of—recordings. ISBN: 0618405682, $28
tant photos do an excellent job of illustrating (cloth). “Somewhere, always, the sun is
how the birds actually appear when seabird shining, and somewhere, always, the birds are
watching. Photos also include images ofbirds singing.” So begins Don Kroodma’s celebra-
in various plumages. tion of birdsong, The Singing Life of Birds.
This book will be particularly useful as On every page, Kroodsma reveals his passion
more birders become aware of the massive for birds, his infatuation with birdsong, and
bird migrations that can be witnessed in many his desire to unravel the mysteries of avian
places along the Atlantic coastline. Its empha- singing behavior. More than a celebration, the
sis on flight identification complements the book is Kroodsma’s attempt to answer the
more standard field guides available. Use of “why” questions of birdsong. Why do some
this guide will speed birders’ abilities and species learn their songs? Why are the songs
confidence as they spend time in the field ofother species innate? Why do some species
watching seabirds. have dialects, where birds match the songs of
Because this book was written by Europe- their neighbors? Why would other species be
ans for the purpose of identifying European unable to learn neighboring songs? Why do
seabirds, North American birders should be mockingbirds mimic? Why do females of
aware that some ofthe book’s approaches may some species sing? Kroodsma attempts to an-
be a bit confusing, or less helpful, to them. swer—such questions with 30 different adven-
For example, the common names used in Eu- ture—s 30 accounts of birds singing their sto-
rope do not always match the names used in ries and shares three decades of recording
North America (e.g., Slavonian Grebe [Podi and analyzing—songs. Traveling widely across
cepsauritus] ratherthan Homed Grebe, Arctic the Americas from the eastern to the western
Skua [Stercorarius parasiticus] rather than U.S. and from —Saskatchewan to Central and
Parasitic Jaeger). In addition, comparisons are South America often enlisting the aid of
often made to European species. For example, countess colleagues and students, Kroodsma
126 THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY • Vol. 118, No. 1, March 2006
takes us along on his exploits as he recounts ma spends an entire early-May night (20:10-
his recording experiences. 05:04), following one male Whip-poor-will
The common thread running throughout the (Caprimulgus vociferus—), and counts 20,898
book is an emphasis on the combination of tuck-wHip-poor-WILLs 2,300 songs/hr and
listening to (songs on the CD) and seeing 40 songs/min in just under 9 hr. And then he
(sonagrams) bird songs. It is the sight of asks “Why so much song?” (Because the
sound that excites Don Kroodsma, and he in- moon was full? Because the weather was
fects the reader with his enthusiasm (“. . . I warm? Because Whip-poor-wills had just re-
can’t imagine a world without sonagrams, as turned from migration? Do high song rates re-
I can’t imagine listening without also see- flect genetic superiority or good territories?).
ing”). Using sound spectrograms and the ac- Relentlessly curious, always intrigued,
companying CD of bird songs, he considers Kroodsma is continually searching for an-
how birds acquire their songs, what makes swers.
their songs unique, what functions songs Kroodsma’s enthusiasm is one of the most
serve, and “how the pieces of this singing notable and enjoyable features of his book. I
continent fit together.” offer only a few examples: (1) “Hear the
DNA
Chapter 1 introduc—es readers to the ele- ofthis flycatcher speak. . . ”; (2) “I love
ments of sonagrams how to interpret the the way song ‘G’ begins. . . ”; (3) “There’s
time-frequency displays ofsonagrams; how to something universal in the quality of these
distinguish noisy, complex sounds from pure- sounds [of Sooty Shearwaters, Pujfinus gri-
toned, whistled sounds; how to recognize the seus], and it seems fitting that the birds them-
rhythm and amplitude evident in sonagrams; selves have the final comment about the sheer
and how to learn to listen (“How do I hear wonder and joy ofbirdsong”; (4) “. . . I can’t
with my eyes?”). Kroodsma also shares his help but. admir[e] how the black images of
. .
personal beginnings and interest in birdsong songs against the white paperreveal the magic
in this chapter, crediting the Bewick’s Wren in the singing bird”; and (5) “. . . songs of
(Thryomanes bewickii) as the bird that first some [Fox Sparrows, Passerella iliaca, are]
taught him how to listen. He ends the chapter so beautiful that they can bring tears to the
by outlining the kinds of questions he asks, eyes.”
and attempts to answer, throughout the book: Kroodsma shares many of his discoveries
How, where, when, and from whom do birds about birdsong with readers. For example,
acquire their singing vocabulary? What are there are two birdsong vocabularies and two
the functions of different bird sounds? How species (eastern and western) ofMarsh Wrens,
do a bird’s life history features and its evo- not just one. The songs of Eastern Phoebes
lutionary background influence song? How do {Sayornis phoebe) and Willow Empidonax
(
the brain, syrinx, and hormones control and traillii) and Alder (E. alnorum) flycatchers are
influence birdsong? innate, not learned. Sedge Wrens Cistothorus
(
As Kroodsma takes readers on his pre-dawn platensis improvise (make up their songs)
)
vigils, he reflects on the music of nature and and they do not imitate (learn so—ngs from)
the journeys on which birds have taken him. their neighbors as other wrens do because
He bikes across Martha’s Vineyard, aston- Sedge Wrens are nomadic due to the unpre-
ished to hear and record improbable sweetie- dictability of their sedge-meadow breeding
heys from Black-capped Chickadees Poecile habitats. Song Sparrows Melospiza melodia)
( (
atricapillus) (across the continent, nearly all that match and share songs with t—heir neigh-
other chickadees sing hey-sweetie). He traips- bors keep their territories longer and may
es across, canoes through, flies to, and criss- live longer. A young Bewick’s Wren learns his
crosses, visits, and revisits Illinois, South Da- father’s songs early in life, but in the follow-
kota, New York, North Carolina, Michigan, ing years, after occupying a territory of his
California, Co—lorado, Saskatchewan, Iowa, own, he replaces his father’s songs by match-
and Nebraska all to identify “The Great ing those of neighboring males. Kroodsma
Marsh Wren Divide” that distinguishes what also lets us in on the fact that the meetcha
are almost certainly two different species of song “switch” of a male Chestnut-sided War-
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris). Kroods- bler (Dendroica pensylvanica) is “off” if he
ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE 127
has a female, but it is “on” if he is without a end of Appendix II, Kroodsma notes that
female (males sing several meetcha songs, “There’s no longer any mystique to what I
e.g., wheedle wheedle wheedle wheedle sweet have done all these years. Anyone can do this
sweet MEETCHA). kind of stuff. And anyone should.” The Notes
There are 68 figures, nearly all ofwhich are and Bibliography chapter provides a short
sonagrams; these are flawless and impeccably section on recommended readings, an anno-
prepared and presented. Some sonagrams are tated list of readings for the key topics dis-
presented at an expanded time scale to show cussed in text, and a formal, extensive bibli-
greater detail, and songs of these sonagrams ogra—phy. A well-organized, all-inclusive in-
can also be heard on the CD, but are played dex referencing key topics, CD tracks, the
at a correspondingly slower pace. Figure cap- locations of sonagrams in text, and the most
tions offer straightforward explanations about importa—nt information for the key species dis-
how to interpret the notes and “read” the son- cussed completes the volume.
agrams; Kroodsma points out the intricate de- Cautious, meticulous, thoroughly prepared,
tails and e—ncourages readers to follow along objective, and determined to know, Kroodsma
on the CD to hear, and see, birdsong at the takes the reader, with lively, often stirring
same time. The CD (98 tracks, —73 min) con- prose, on 30 fascinating journeys. No matter
tains su—perlative recordings of more than 50 what your level ofornithological expertise, af-
species to aid readers in the interpretation of ter reading this book you will have learned to
the sonagrams or for sheer listening enjoy- listen to, and to look at, birdsong in a different
ment. way, and you will have broadened your un-
Appendix I {Bird Sounds on the Compact derstanding of avian singing behavior. As
Disc) provides detailed, colorful descriptions Kroodsma reminds us (quoting Shakespeare),
of the bird sounds on the accompanying CD. “The earth has music for those—who listen.”
Appendix II {Techniques) offers useful advice I highly recommend this book. JAMES A.
on how to listen to and record birdsong, on SEDGWICK, USGS Fort Collins Science
the recording equipment needed to do so, and Center, Fort Collins, Colorado; e-mail:
on the software for making sonagrams. At the [email protected]
