The Songs of Insects [Paperback]

Wil Hershberger (Author), Lang Elliott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2007

The Songs of Insects is a celebration of the chirps, trills, and scrapes of seventy-seven common species of crickets, katydids, locusts, and cicadas native to eastern and central North America. The photographs in this book will surprise and delight all who behold them. Many of the insects' colors are brilliant and jewellike, and they are displayed beautifully here. This book and accompanying CD provide a unique doorway to enjoyment of the insect concerts and solos that dominate our natural soundscape during the summer and autumn. The text includes information on the natural history of insects, identification tips, and an appreciation of insect song. A seventy-minute audio CD features high-quality recordings of the songs of all species, track-keyed to the information presented in the text.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

LANG ELLIOTT is a sound recordist, writer, and photographer. He is the author of The Songs of Insects, The Songs of Wild Birds, and many other book/CD packages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (April 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618663975
• ISBN-13: 978-0618663972
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #543,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have done butterflies and dragonflies....., April 24, 2007

By 

Sam Droege (Upper Marlboro, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Songs of Insects (Paperback)

I just received a copy of Lang Elliot and Wil Hershberger's book, The Songs of Insects and just wanted to say what a fabulous addition this will be to any local naturalist's collection of guides.

I used to work a lot on this group in the late 1990's, testing monitoring protocols primarily for the katydid groups. I grew to appreciate how one could identify almost all of the species just by their calls. Unfortunately, I couldn't get much interest to continue that work and so instead now work on native bee monitoring techniques...something that people have more awareness of.

I think this book should move crickets, katydids, and cicadas into the same realm butterflies and dragonflies now inhabit for many naturalists. Now non-professionals will have great access to information and calls of these insects though this book and the associated CD. Furthermore this is complemented by accessing the information on Tom Walker's web site in Gainesville, FL for all the species in North America, complete with their songs and calls. Consequently, it would be great to see people organize the collection of distribution and abundance information of these species within North America similar to efforts for dragonflies and butterflies.

The pictures are the best I have seen and the recordings are of the highest quality....this is a book that will greatly change how any of you listen and look at these critters. ... .I can't say enough.

Sam Droege

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another extraordinary book from Lang Elliott, April 26, 2007

By 

K. Edelstein - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Songs of Insects (Paperback)

Each new book Lang Elliott produces is a leap and a bound more wonderful than the last excellent one. A prolific sound-recordist and photographer, Elliott--along with co-author Wil Hershberger--knows how to communicate knowledge and information in a way that draws the reader in, opening eyes, ears and sense of wonder to the natural world. What a fabulous addition to my natural history library!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Songs of Insects, August 3, 2007

By 

B. Hershberger (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Songs of Insects (Paperback)

Very well written and vocabulary is a level children and adults
understand and enjoy. Photography is amazing.
CD sound track also amazing, some of them I had never heard their
songs before.
Very good educational tool and enjoyable for children and adults.