Birdsong by the Seasons: A Year of Listening to Birds [Paperback]

Donald Kroodsma (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 2009

Birdsong by the Seasons is a celebration of birdsong from January through December. The stories begin with a pileated woodpecker on New Year's Day; they unfold through the year, covering limpkins and scrub-jays in February in Florida, prairie birds in May, Scarlet Tanagers in July, and ending with a chorus of singing birds in Massachusetts just before Christmas. Readers get inside the mind of a scientist and see how answers only lead to more questions. Kroodsma provides a unique experience: with his gentle guidance, the pairing of sonagrams with the audio CDs make birdsong accessible and fascinating.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"No one listens to birdsong as intently - or makes so enthusiastic and knowledgeable a guide to this fascinating realm of avian behavior - as Don Kroodsma. In Birdsong by the Seasons, Don explores the dawn chorus of tanagers, the autumnal drumming of grouse, and many more vocalizations, revealing the previously unrecognized complexity of bird communication. And with the book's accompanying CDs, you can listen along to the chatter of tropical wrens, the bugling of cranes, and the sweet flutings of thrushes. You will never listen to a singing bird the same way." - Scott Weidensaul, author of Living on the Wind and Of a Feather

"With the training of a scientist and the soul of a poet, Don Kroodsma can show us both the technical and the magical aspects of birdsong, marveling at it even as he explains it. Birdsong by the Seasons is, like the phenomenon it describes, both an education and a sheer delight." - Kenn Kaufman, author of The Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America

"Seeking out birds from southern swamps and pine woods to prairie grasslands and eastern forests (punctuated by a revealing jaunt to the tropics), Don Kroodsma listens with sharp and sensitive ears, gathers sound recordings with captivating stories in mind, analyzes and synthesizes with the uncompromising precision of a well-trained scientist, and then writes with a poet's flair . . . what an extraordinary combination of talents! Without hesitation, I recommend Birdsong by the Seasons to all who embrace the amazing sounds of nature." - Lang Elliott, author of The Frogs and Toads of North America

"This book is a real gem - a rare, honest, insightful treasure-trove of firsthand experiences with natural symphonies and musical solos of the bird world. A world-class scientist puts us inside his blind - and even inside his curious mind - for dozens of intimate moments, appreciating and interpreting the sounds of nature throughout the year." - John W. Fitzpatrick, Louis Agassiz Fuertes Director, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

"Kroodsma's book, full of infectious enthusiasm for his subject, reminds us that eco-tourism and its rewards are as near as our own backyards, where, if we listen attentively, we can begin unlocking the marvelous mysteries of birdsong." - Ned Brinkley, author of the National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Birds of North America

About the Author

A retired biology professor at the University of Massachusetts, Donald Kroodsma's work on bird song is legendary. His book The Singing Life of Birds won 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. In 2003 the American Ornithologits' 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 Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union and the Animal Behavior Society and has published hundreds of academic and popular articles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Har/Com edition (May 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618753362
• ISBN-13: 978-0618753369
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #882,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A retired biology professor at the University of Massachusetts, Donald Kroodsma's work on bird song is legendary. His book "The Singing Life of Birds" won 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. In 2003 the American Ornithologits' 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 Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union and the Animal Behavior Society and has published hundreds of academic and popular articles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a treasure, May 4, 2009

By 

avid birder - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birdsong by the Seasons: A Year of Listening to Birds (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book--so different from his Singing Life of Birds that won the John Burroughs Medal, yet every bit as good if not even better. Kroodsma's text and two CDs of bird songs take me with him to experience each dawn as it unfolds throughout the year, from January through December. Through each chapter, I learn, I often laugh, and I reach the end in awe with a much better appreciation of the complexity and beauty of birds.

My favorite vignettes? It's so hard to choose among them since each of the 24 chapters takes me to a different experience with different birds and places. Some that especially stand out for me include the all-night symphony of sound from wading birds on roost in January in the Everglades; the deafening clamor of tens of thousands of cranes and snow geese flying overhead on the Platte River in Nebraska in March; how the dawn chorus at a cemetery in June brings back memories of a special birding companion; listening to the next generation of singers, as a young song sparrow, house wren, chickadee, goldfinches, and other songbirds practice their songs in August; hilltop listening to calls of migrant birds throughout September nights; the power and majesty of Mr. Grouse in October, as he struts on stage, drums, exits, and returns for repeat performances; and the anticipation and excitement felt on a late December day, when a burst of singing by titmice, robins, chickadees, nuthatches, and other songbirds declare that the winter solstice is in fact their first day of spring.

I read Sand County Almanac some thirty years ago, and have been waiting and looking for another book that could inspire me and take me to nature as Leopold did. Finally, Birdsong by the Seasons is that book. It is truly a treasure, a book that reveals the magic of birds like no other book I know.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enchanting and enlighting book, August 14, 2009

By 

Aven - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birdsong by the Seasons: A Year of Listening to Birds (Paperback)

Donald Kroodsma may be a retired University Professor, but his writing is prose at its best. As a scientist and with experience writing prose, I can tell you that Kroodsma spins wonderful spell binding tales matched only by his own recordings of birds from your backyard, and those from exotic rainforests. Each chapter is of a different bird in a different season, so we get stories from wintering robins, orioles incubating their eggs, and fledglings learning their song-craft. I received this book as a gift and whole heartedly recommend it to anyone who loves reading and listening birds.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A more in-depth coverage of birdsong than mere identification alone, July 18, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birdsong by the Seasons: A Year of Listening to Birds (Paperback)

BIRDSONG BY THE SEASONS; A YEAR OF LISTENING TO BIRDS comes with two CDs of birdsong and offers insights into seasonal birds and the different songs they song. Sonograms plot a sound's frequency and analyzes the foundations of melody, while lively discussions cover bird activities and changing seasonal trends. Any library strong in birding and any individual interested in a more in-depth coverage of birdsong than mere identification alone, needs this.