Bird Songs Bible: The Complete, Illustrated Reference for North American Birds [Hardcover]

Les Beletsky (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2010

From the best-selling Bird Songs series comes the most comprehensive bird book ever published. Bird Songs Bible covers the sights and sounds of every single breeding bird in North Americanearly 750 in all. This utterly distinctive package features a state-of-the-art digital audio player that brings to life the birds' songs and calls with the touch of a button. Written by a panel of ornithological experts and produced with the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this indispensable reference features lavish illustrations of the birds and their habitats, scientifically accurate range maps, and detailed information on distribution, habitat, behavior, and vocalizations. A beautiful keepsake object, Bird Songs Bible is an essential volume for the true bird lover.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Truly encyclopedic, 'Bird Songs Bible' is a masterwork." - Chicago Tribune

About the Author

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a nonprofit institution located in Ithaca, New York. Its mission is to interpret and conserve the earth's biological diversity through research.

Les Beletsky is a celebrated bird biologist and the author of Bird Songs and Bird Songs from Around the World. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 536 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (October 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081187138X
• ISBN-13: 978-0811871389
• Product Dimensions: 14.9 x 1.9 x 14 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Birds & Birdwatching > Field Guides
  • #24 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Field Guides

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 87 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect gift for the bird lover you love - ideal either for the coffee table or the classroom. November 18, 2010

By Nathan Andersen TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Length: 1:08 Mins

This is a gorgeous book, full of valuable information. It could be used and appreciated by the birding novice and the expert alike. It's also quite handy, as they've thought to include a fairly solid carrying case, complete with a handle. Edited by celebrated bird scientist Les Beletsky, the book aims to be a comprehensive guide to all the native birds of North America, and includes a gorgeous illustration and helpful notes on every single one. The notes for each bird include a very useful descriptive passage, including details such as the fact that the Mute Swan is distinguished from other swans by its black-knobbed orange bill. It also includes discussions of where they are found - and there's a color-coded distribution map as well. Each section, additionally, includes a paragraph on habitat, behavior and vocalizations.

The really novel feature of this book, though, is that it includes very clear and distinctive audio recordings of the vocalizations of each bird, drawn from the library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Every bird is numbered, and you just type in the number onto the keypad of the sound unit attached to this book and it plays some of the distinctive sounds that particular bird makes. One thing that surprised me was when I played the sound of the Bald Eagle I realized I've heard them often in a nearby nature park. I knew I'd seen them on occasions, but didn't realize they were the bird making that sound, and that I was hearing them more often than I saw them! (See the brief attached video for a glimpse at what this book looks like and how it sounds and how it works.)

The table of contents divides up the sections in two ways, by bird type and by region/habitat, which would make it easier to find a particular bird if you didn't know its exact name.... The book includes a basic introduction to each habitat as well. There's also, of course, a comprehensive index. The introduction gives some basic facts about birds that would be very helpful for beginners.

My wife was the one who really wanted this - she's working on becoming a serious birder, focused on the astonishing variety of birds that appear here where we live along the West coast of central Florida. As soon as we got it, though, I found that my children, especially my youngest son, are fascinated by the book and open it with care and come back to it regularly. I'd be walking through the hallway by the kids' bedroom and hear bird sounds, and knew that my youngest son had "borrowed" it for a while to browse. The whole family has browsed through it, occasionally to look up birds that we see at the beach or in the neighborhood or at the local nature preserve. This would make an ideal gift for the bird lover in your family. I know my wife plans to bring it in to her elementary classroom and show it to her students. It would also be a very nice book to keep on a coffee table in the living room for those who just want to browse. Read more ›

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Special PLAY ALL Tracks Modes for the Bird Songs Bible book. December 6, 2010

By SteveBBB

Format:Hardcover

Special PLAY ALL Tracks Modes for the Bird Songs Bible book:

Greetings to all readers and listeners of the Bird Songs Bible book.

This is Steve Beck, and I was one of the team members who worked on making the book.

I worked on the custom audio engineering and some related technology items in the digital audio player.

There are some special PLAY ALL tracks modes in the Bird Songs Bible Book.

These track numbers will automatically play all (or some) of the 728 bird sounds.

Just punch in the three digit track code number and press the PLAY button.

999 = Plays ALL tracks 1 to 728
990 = plays tracks 1-99
991 = plays tracks 100-199
992 = plays tracks 200-299
993 = plays tracks 300-399
994 = plays tracks 400-499
995 = plays tracks 500-599
996 = plays tracks 600-699
997 = plays tracks 700-728

When you do this the display will briefly show the word ALL.

Then the track number which is playing will display during automatic PLAY ALL mode.

You can press the PLAY/PAUSE button at any time to stop the automatic playback.

If you press any other control button, a number button or the << or >> buttons, the PLAY ALL mode will also stop.

Adjusting the volume levels does NOT stop the PLAY ALL automatic songs playbacks.

At the end of playing all the tracks selected the book will automatically turn off power after about 15 seconds.

You can also enter a new track number at any time, press PLAY, and the automatic playback will stop, and the track number you just entered will play.

Then the book goes back into single track play mode....

The PLAY ALL mode is fun and useful to just go through the pages of birds as the songs are played automatically.

It is also a nice album of bird songs music to enjoy.

The PLAY ALL tracks 1 through 728 will play for well over one hour of playing time.

Thanks also for the comments on the product - hopefully some updated versions of the book may address these critical comments.

Enjoy!

Thanks, Cheers, Peace, Steve Beck
[...] Read more ›

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, Useful, Big October 25, 2010

By Steve Harrison VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

What makes this different from other bird books is that it not only illustrates and describes each bird but also plays back its song or call using an integrated audio player. Each bird has a number; to hear its song you enter its number on a keypad and press the "play" button. The recordings last up to five seconds or so, depending on how long a bird's song is.

Each pages contains a color drawing and detailed description of from one to three birds. The book covers all the birds of North America and Hawaii. It seems to be a fairly basic book intended more for a general audience than for experienced bird enthusiasts.

I am not a bird enthusiast, I just wanted something that would identify my local birds and let me know which ones I was hearing. This book did that.

There are some drawbacks, though. The text is a bit small. The labels on the players' buttons are very difficult to see. The book is big and quite heavy; the audio player is mounted on its right-hand edge, making it even bigger. This is a coffee-table book, not a field guide (and the introduction warns against using the audio player in the field anyway, as that can apparently upset or confuse the birds).

However, this is a very interesting and useful book to have in the house and it should even interest the kids.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for bird lovers; helped me solve a mystery! November 6, 2010

By Mindy VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This is, without a doubt, the nicest book I have ever owned. I'm sure many of you look at the price and wonder if it's worth it and I can tell you unequivocally: It is. Especially if you're a birdwatcher.

I consider myself a beginner. Mostly I like to sit outdoors, enjoy the fresh air and listen, maybe catch a glimpse of color fly by. I have a hard time discerning the difference in the bird songs which is why I got this. I was not disappointed. The book is large and every page is done with rich, bold colors. 747 birds are featured and each has a map of where they can be found with short blurbs on description, habitat, distribution, vocalizations and behavior. Best yet, the accompanying audio is crystal clear. In fact, it's so life like that there's a warning not to use this book haphazardly as it may disrupt the normal rhythms of the birds at your location. The audio is delivered through a device attached to the book. The device is simple to use and I like how it shuts off after 30 seconds of inactivity.

The book, as mentioned before, is large and bulky. Most likely you wouldn't have this on your lap while outside because your lap would soon get numb. It's also cumbersome to handle but that's not really a detractor to me. It's like complaining a dictionary has way too many words and should be smaller. This book is comprehensive and the size is a bonus since the birds are rendered with such detail and beauty.

I've used this book often and even solved a mystery with it. At night, my husband and I would hear a specific bird call right as we were drifting off to sleep. It was unusual and always brought me back from the edge of dreams but during the day, I wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary, just a crow or robin here and there.... I figured it must be an owl, but I didn't confirm it until I got this book. As I pressed the button, I knew right away: This was it! Somewhere close to my home lived a Barred Owl! I was thrilled! Read more ›