A Guide to Night Sounds: The Nighttime Sounds of 60 Mammals, Birds, Amphibians, and Insects (Paperback)

by Lang Elliott (Author) "Of all the sounds of nature, the magical voice of the night fascinate us beyond compare..." (more)
Key Phrases: North America, United States, Common Loon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
For country lovers and city-dwellers alike, Elliott presents this wonderful guide to the sounds animals make at night. Recorded at his company, NatureSound Studio in Ithaca, New York, this guidebook–CD compilation includes an hour’s worth of bird calls (from thrushes to herons to owls), alligators growls, frog croaks and various mammal noises. He narrates each one of the more than 60 animals in a soothing, Mr. Roger’s inflected voice: e.g. "among my favorite mammalian sounds are the barks, yips and howls of the coyote"; "there’s the forest dwelling whip-poor-will, whose whistled notes spring forth from Eastern forests just as thrush songs fade away"; "the woodcock… a plump, rather silly looking bird with a long fleshy beak that it uses to probe in moist ground for earthworms at night." While listening to these sounds—clear and distinct—one can flip through the book to view pencil drawings and color photos (not seen by PW) of each animal. In all, Elliott has compiled a sweet, concise nature guide.
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Product Description
As anyone who has been captivated by the sounds of an evening outdoors knows, the nightly music of the woods can be a lovely but bewildering mix of hoots, croaks, howls, and grunts. This handy collection of field recordings and species descriptions helps you to identify the various members of the nocturnal chorus, from crickets and owls to otters, porcupines, and alligators. Illustrated with gorgeous pencil drawings and full-color photographs, it's the perfect complement to the sounds of the night. Includes an hour-long audio CD of the nighttime sounds of 60 animals.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 62 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811731642
• ISBN-13: 978-0811731645
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #34,472 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and wonderful nature guide by Lang Elliott, March 28, 2000

By	James Remsen, Jr. (Lindenhurst, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Guide to Night Sounds (audio compact disc and 40-page booklet) (Pamphlet)

This is a truly special release from Lang Elliott, the author of numerous nature CDs and books (including the splendid "Music of the Birds" and "Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs.") On this compact disc (or cassette) and its accompanying booklet, he introduces the sounds of common North American night animals. To my knowledge, no one else has compiled a field guide to the sounds of night animals with sounds from many groups of creatures all in one place (i.e., birds, mammals, amphibians, etc.)

The recording is a constant delight and will probably make you aware of the source of many sounds you have heard but not identified before. Don't be surprised to say, "So THAT'S what that is" many times while listening to the tape or CD. Also be prepared for surprises. Think you hear cats fighting outside your window at night? They may be cats, but they also could be raccoons, which often sound remarkably like angry felines. That strange, ghostly hiss or scream you may have heard at night in the country? An angry cat perhaps, but it might be a barn owl. And there are many other special sounds identified here: the rhythmic calls of nightjars like the whippoorwill, the trills and croaks of amphibians, the surprisingly snort of the white-tailed deer.

If you spend a lot of time outdoors, you must have this guide. Take it on a camping trip with you, if you have a portable CD player or cassette player. Those night woods will not seem so forbidding anymore once you know that most of the time, the strange and fascinating sounds you hear are made by completely harmless creatures.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What goes bump in the night, April 28, 2007

By	S. Smith "Quality counts" (West Chester, Pa United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you live in the woods or country and are curious about what goes bump in the night, this book and CD will explain those noises. We kept hearing a wonderful creature but had no way to identify it. Turns out it was a screech owl (they don't hoot nor do they screech). This book has also helped identify several frogs & night birds. As a bonus, Lang has a very pleasant voice and the CD is well made.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Soothing and informative, September 30, 2001

By	Mimi (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Guide to Night Sounds (Hardcover)

I love Lang Elliott's voice. It is very soothing and doesn't detract from the bird, reptile and insect sounds. I was able to identify a Horned Owl from the CD, so it is informative, too. The sounds are grouped on different tracks so it's easy to find the category you want, much better than a cassette tape.