Bird Songs From Around the World: Featuring Songs of 200 Birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Push and Listen) [Hardcover]

Les Beletsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 2007

Discover two hundred of the world's most spectacular birds in Bird Songs from Around the World, the follow-up to the national best-seller Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song. Drawing from the collection of the world-renowned Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this stunning book features a sleek, built-in digital audio player that showcases each bird's song, as well as illustrated portraits and brief descriptions emphasizing the exceptional vocalizations. From the brilliantly plumed Lilac-breasted Roller in Africa to the flamboyant North American Roseate Spoonbill to Asia's Red Avadavat, Bird Songs from Around the World combines approachable information, beautiful art, and high-quality sound in a distinctive, elegant package.

Listen here
White Bellbird (South America)
Spot-breasted Laughingthrush (Asia)
Greater Potoo (North America)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

For over 20 years, bird biologist and natural history writer Les Beletsky has conducted ecological research on birds, concentrating on their vocalizations. He divides his time between Seattle and Whidbey Island, Washington.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; Edition Unstated edition (September 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932855610
• ISBN-13: 978-1932855616
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 10.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #380,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Les Beletsky is a professional wildlife biologist and former university biology teacher. Prior to taking up full-time writing, he conducted many years of field research into the ecology and behavior of birds, publishing many scientific reports and two technical books on birds. An avid global birder and ecotraveler, he has visited numerous sites in the Americas, Africa, Asia and in the Australian region. He currently makes his home in Seattle, Washington.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My Dog Hates this Book, November 10, 2007

By 

K. Bennett "Book Fanatic" (Chico, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bird Songs From Around the World: Featuring Songs of 200 Birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Push and Listen) (Hardcover)

I purchased this book with the intention of giving it as a gift to a bird lover I know. However, I ended up keeping it because I was enjoying it too much. Don't worry, I plan to purchase another one and give it as a gift! I find this book fascinating. Knowing that I most likely will not travel to a lot of these places in the world where these birds live, it is pretty cool to be able to see what they look like and to hear their songs. There are only two problems with this book: 1) My dog absolutely hates this book. He either tries to bite the book or runs around the house barking and/or whimpering when he hears the birds. I've noticed he reacts differently to each bird call; what I like to call the 'Jekyll and Hyde effect'. 2) the glue came unglued that hold the sound player in place so I need to apply glue again. Overall though I am glad I own this book. It's a great conversation piece too when guests come over

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An odd way of doing the sound clips, January 8, 2010

By 

Ed Augusta "Ed Augusta" (West Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bird Songs From Around the World: Featuring Songs of 200 Birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Push and Listen) (Hardcover)

Strong text and great illustrations. The main reason for buying this book, though, should be the excellence of the calls and songs. My complaint is that for most of the 200 species, the book provides a very short clip (about 1 second) that is played four times. You can even hear the player cutting on and off after each repetition. So you may think you're hearing a phrase as the bird would phrase it, but really you are hearing repeated mini-clips. I'm guessing in real life the birds may be more likely to make each repetition slightly different. It is also important to know how long a bird pauses before repeating a phrase, but in this book all the pauses seem to have been equalized. I don't know much about how one produces a bird song book like this, but I can't help but think the book would be better if the clips were maybe seven seconds long and not short clips repeated several times.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful gift, January 11, 2008

By 

Diane Crawford (Lincoln, NE USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bird Songs From Around the World: Featuring Songs of 200 Birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Push and Listen) (Hardcover)

I purchased this book for my mother, who loves birds. It is large and heavy. The audio has a good sound, and the controls let you jump from page to page.
One thing to know is that although each bird has multiple calls, this book only gives you one, supposedly the most common.