Songs of Eastern Birds

Donald J. Borror - Songs of Eastern Birds

It appears that the bird songs album posted last Sunday received a good reception, so the nature/environmental Sunday postings will go on. There was also an unexpected treat provided by H.C. Earwicker in the middle of last week which is Peter Szöke's The Unknown Music of Birds.

Here's info from the liner notes:

This record contains the songs of 60 species of birds all of which are common in at least some sections of Eastern United States, either as breeding species or migrants. All recordings were made in the field by the author, a noted bird watcher and ornithologist.

The songs have been arranged on 10 bands in more or less increasing order of complexity, with similar songs or calls together on the same band so they may be more easily compared. Thus, the first band begins with relatively simple songs, most of which appear to be a single note or phrase, while the last band contains complex songs, most of which are relatively loud with a whistled or warbled quality, and some of which are quite long.

The emphasis is on songs typical to the species, but as Professor Borror notes in the introduction to the accompanying booklet, variations often occur in the songs of a single individual, from individual to individual, and also due to factors of maturity and season. For this reason, recordings of two or more individuals are included for almost all species, and in some cases the songs of immatures or migrants are also given. Each example is from a different bird, and they are designated on the record by numbers. In this way the listener can obtain a good idea of all aspects of a species' song or call pattern.

Accompanying the record is a 32-page booklet also prepared by Professor Borror. Here you will find ornithological material on the characteristics, function, and production of song for each species, as well as an appendix giving sound spectrographs and place of each recording. Each bird is pictured in a black-and-white drawing.

The bird watcher should find this a valuable set, indeed, particularly as poor lighting, densely forested or inaccessible areas, and the similar appearance of some species make visual identification difficult in some cases.

Tracklisting:

Side One

1. Chuck-will's-widow, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Acadian Flycatcher, American Woodcock, Red-tailed Hawk, Common Grackle, Henslow's Sparrow {5:16}

2. Worm-eating Warbler, Pine Warbler, Myrtle Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Dickcissel, Long-billed Marsh Wren {6:57}

3. Killdeer, Belted Kingfisher, Sora, Common Gallinule, Common Tern, Herring Gull {4:55}

4. Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker {3:00}

5. Starling, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Eastern Bluebird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat {6:26}

Side Two

1. White-crowned Sparrow, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler {3:42}

2. Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Prothonotary Warbler, Connecticut Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Northern Waterthrush {5:41}

3. Bachman's Sparrow, Bewick's Wren, Fox Sparrow, Magnolia Warbler, Canada Warbler {4:44}

4. Hermit Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, Gray-checked Thrush, Veery, Solitary Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo {4:46}

5. Blue Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, Western Meadowlark, Horned Lark, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Winter Wren, Lark Sparrow {7:27}

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