The Backyard Birdsong Guide Western North America: A Guide to Listening

by Donald Kroodsma, Larry McQueen (Illustrator), Jon Janosik (Illustrator)

Overview

With more than 300,000 copies already sold, Backyard Birdsongs is back by popular demand. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is proud to rerelease this widely acclaimed bird audio field guide series, from award-winning ornithologist and author Donald Kroodsma.

Suitable for beginning bird watchers, Backyard Birdsongs is an interactive handbook of birds and their songs. With a touch-button electronic module that contains common vocalizations of seventy-five species from across eastern and central North America, this volume offers a truly sensory way to identify and get to know local birds. Crisply detailed, scientifically accurate illustrations accompany each entry, and up-to-date range maps provide clear geographical reference points. With an introduction that will inspire readers to look out their windows and venture into the field, this unique book gives people of all ages an exciting entryway into the subtle art of using birdsong to identify birds.

This second edition includes a much-requested new Sound Track Index (to help make watching and listening to birds easier), and access to a free download of the Cornell Lab's own MERLIN® Bird ID App (in iTunes and Android stores). As with all Cornell Lab Publishing Group books, a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of Backyard Birdsongs supports projects at the Cornell Lab, including children’s educational and community programs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781943645008
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	04/12/2016
Series:	Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	208,116
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Donald Kroodsma is professor emeritus of ornithology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a world-renowned authority on birdsongs. He is the author of The Singing Life of Birds (winner of the 2006 John Burroughs Medal Award and the American Birding Association's Robert Ridgway Distinguished Service Award for excellence in publications pertaining to field ornithology), The Backyard Birdsong Guides, and Birdsong by the Seasons.

Donald's work on bird song is legendary. In 2003 the American Ornithologists' Union called him the "reigning authority on the biology of avian vocal behavior." Kroodsma received his Ph.D. at Oregon State University and has traveled all over North and South America researching bird song. He is a Visiting Fellow of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, American Ornithologists' Union, and the Animal Behavior Society and has published hundreds of academic and popular articles. He lives in Hatfield, MA.

Larry McQueen painted the popular Project FeederWatch eastern and western Common Feeder Birds posters. Bird images from those posters and from other sources, including three original watercolor paintings done for BirdSource's Warbler Watch site, are used throughout both the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's web site and the BirdSource web site. Larry's work is widely known and respected, having appeared widely in calendars, catalogs, and magazines, including the Lab's own Living Bird. He has illustrated for many books, such as The Audubon Master Guide to Birding, and you'll find his images in a number of field guides.

Originally from Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, Larry earned degrees from Idaho State University and the University of Oregon. After a career in fish and game management and then as a graphic designer, he started painting full-time in 1977. He now lives in Eugene, OR.

Jon Janosik was born in Connecticut in 1941. Living with my grandparents on their Trumbull farm in my formative years, he became enchanted with wild birds, nature and Biology. He became acquainted with Roger Tory Peterson and gained many early skills in the field while attending Peterson's local bird walks.

Jon's work has been featured in such books as Field Guide to North American Birds (National Geographic Society), Birds of the Ligonier Valley (Carnegie Museum) ,The Audubon Society Master Guide to Birding, An Audubon Handbook, Western/Eastern Birds, and Book of North American Birds (Readers Digest Books). Jon's works have been exhibited in numerous museums, and galleries including: Kobe Museum, Sanda Japan; The Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC; Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum-Wausau WI; Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh PA; Moji Art Galley, Kitakyushu Japan; Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh (Birds in Art), Kirritappu Wetland Center, Hokkaido, Japan and the British Museum, London England.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

New Inside Cover SOUND TRACK INDEX

INTRODUCTION: THE WORLD OF BIRDSONG
Why Birds Sing 10
Where Each Bird Gets His Song 12
Songs and Calls 14
The Practice of Deep Listening 15
Where to Begin 21
How to Use the Audio Player 22

SECTION 1: THE NON-PASSERINE GROUP
Ducks and Geese (Anatidae) 26 Canada Goose
Ducks and Geese (Anatidae) 28 Mallard
New World Quail (Odontophoridae) 30 California Quail
Grebes (Podicipedidae) Western and Clark's Grebes
Hawks and Eagles (Accipitridae) 34 Red-tailed Hawk
Rails, Gallinules, and Coots (Rallidae) 36 American Coot
Cranes (Gruidae) 38 Sandhill Crane
Plovers (Charadriidae) 40 Killdeer
Sandpipers and Phalaropes (Scolopacidae) 42 Wilson’s Snipe
Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae) 44 Mourning Dove
Owls (Strigidae) 46 Great Horned Owl
Goatsuckers (Caprimulgidae) 48 Common Nighthawk
Hummingbirds (Trochilidae) 50 Anna’s Hummingbird
Kingfishers (Alcedinidae) 52 Belted Kingfisher
Woodpeckers (Picidae) 54 Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers (Picidae) 56 Northern Flicker

SECTION 2: THE PASSERINE GROUP
Tyrant Flycatchers (Tyrannidae) 60 Western Wood-Pewee 62 Black Phoebe
Tyrant Flycatchers (Tyrannidae) 64 Western Kingbird
Vireos (Vireonidae) 66 Hutton’s Vireo
Jays and Crows (Corvidae) 68 Steller’s Jay
Jays and Crows (Corvidae) 70 Western Scrub-Jay
Jays and Crows (Corvidae) 72 American Crow
Jays and Crows (Corvidae) 74 Common Raven
Larks (Alaudidae) 76 Horned Lark
Swallows (Hirundinidae) 78 Violet-green Swallow
Chickadees and Titmice (Paridae) 80 Mountain Chickadee
Chickadees and Titmice (Paridae)82 Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Chickadees and Titmice (Paridae)84 Oak and Juniper Titmice
Nuthatches (Sittidae) 86 White-breasted Nuthatch
Wrens (Troglodytidae) 88 Bewick’s Wren
Wrens (Troglodytidae) 90 House Wren
Wrens (Troglodytidae) 92 Winter Wren
Wrens (Troglodytidae) 94 Marsh Wren
Kinglets (Regulidae) 96 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Thrushes (Turdidae) 98 American Robin
Thrushes (Turdidae) 100 Western Bluebird
Thrushes (Turdidae) 102 Swainson’s Thrush
Thrushes (Turdidae) 104 Hermit Thrush
Babblers (Timaliidae) 106 Wrentit
Mockingbirds and Thrashers (Mimidae) 108 Northern Mockingbird
Mockingbirds and Thrashers (Mimidae) 110 California Thrasher
Starlings (Sturnidae) 112 European Starling
Waxwings (Bombycillidae) 114 Cedar Waxwing
Wood-Warblers (Parulidae) 116 Orange-crowned Warbler
Wood-Warblers (Parulidae) 118 Yellow Warbler
Wood-Warblers (Parulidae) 120 MacGillivray’s Warbler
Wood-Warblers (Parulidae) 122 Common Yellowthroat
Wood-Warblers (Parulidae) 124 Wilson’s Warbler
Wood-Warblers (Parulidae) 126 Yellow-breasted Chat
Tanagers (Thraupidae) 128 Western Tanager
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 130 Spotted Towhee
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 132 California Towhee
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 134 Chipping Sparrow
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 136 Brewer’s Sparrow
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 138 Lark Sparrow
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 140 Lark Bunting
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 142 Savannah Sparrow
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 144 Fox Sparrow
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 146 Song Sparrow
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 148 White-crowned Sparrow
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 150 Golden-crowned Sparrow
Sparrows (Emberizidae) 152 Dark-eyed Junco
Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Buntings (Cardinalidae) 154 Black-headed Grosbeak
Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Buntings (Cardinalidae) 156 Lazuli Bunting
Blackbirds (Icteridae) 158 Red-winged Blackbird
Blackbirds (Icteridae) 160 Western Meadowlark
Blackbirds (Icteridae) 162 Yellow-headed Blackbird
Blackbirds (Icteridae) 164 Great-tailed Grackle
Blackbirds (Icteridae) 166 Brown-headed Cowbird
Blackbirds (Icteridae) 168 Bullock’s Oriole
Finches (Fringillidae) 170 House Finch
Finches (Fringillidae) 172 American Goldfinch
Finches (Fringillidae) 174 Lesser Goldfinch

More Fun with Birdsong 178
Additional Listening and Reading Sources 180
References 181
Illustration Credits 182
Recording Credits 182
About the Cornell Lab of Ornithology 183
About the Artists 184
About the Author 185
Index 186
Acknowledgments 192

Editorial Reviews

"Don Kroodsma’s passion for birdsong is infectious, and this guide will have any birder (including me) listening to birds with new insight and appreciation after reading it." — David Allen Sibley, author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds

"Watching birds is only half the fun—knowing how to listen to them is the other half. This handy audio book teaches you how to listen to birds and to understand who they are and what they are saying to each other. It will double your enjoyment—both outdoors and indoors." — Greg Butcher, National Audubon Society

"There is no better guide to the fascinating world of birdsong than Don Kroodsma, who in this handy book shows that even in the average backyard there is drama, mystery, and excitement, all bound up in the song of a bird." — Scott Weidensaul, author of Living on the Wind and Of a Feather

"Don Kroodsma’s latest book is a gem. Each page brims with enthusiasm and erudition, the product of countless hours spent in 'deep listening'—applying the attentiveness and aesthetic appreciation of a musician to the songs and calls of birds. Even advanced students of birdsong will find much that is new in these pages—and refreshingly well composed!" — Ned Brinkley, Editor, North American Birds

"Don Kroodsma once again gives us a reason to listen to birds as individuals. What a gift to all birders to be able to listen to these birds with new ears." — Bill Thompson, III, Editor, Bird Watcher’s Digest

"With his trademark clarity and charm, Donald Kroodsma takes us beyond identification and into the realm of understanding. What are the different functions of the multiple songs given by many birds? How do songs differ among individuals? And what causes those differences? These are cutting-edge scientific questions, and it is to Kroodsma’s credit that he provides compelling and easily understood answers." — Ted Floyd, Editor, Birding

From the Publisher