More Birding by Ear Eastern and Central North America : A Guide to Bird-song Identification

Rating:
Summary: VERY HELPFUL
Review: MORE BIRDING BY EAR is the follow-up to BIRDING BY EAR. BIRDING BY EAR presented 85 species of birds. MORE BIRDING BY EAR presents 96 additional species. MORE BIRDING BY EAR follows the same format as BIRDING BY EAR. Species are grouped according to similar types of vocalizations. Primary songs and calls are presented. In some cases, other songs and calls are also presented. Vocalizations are analyzed, and comparisons are made to other, similar sounding birds. Phonetics and tips are suggested to help the listener to remember the vocalizations. It is suggested that you complete BIRDING BY EAR before going on to MORE BIRDING BY EAR.

Species included in More Birding by Ear are:

DISK 1: Sora, Virginia Rail, Clapper Rail, King Rail, Yellow Rail, Black Rail, Pied-billed Grebe, Least Bittern, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, Marsh Wren, Least Flycatcher, Acadian Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Winter Wren, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Common Nighthawk, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Evening Grosbeak, Osprey, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Fish Crow, Common Raven, Swainson's Thrush, Bicknell's Thrush, Boat-tailed Grackle, Rusty Blackbird, American Pipit, Horned Lark.

DISK 2: Prairie Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Palm Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Louisiana Waterthrush, Swainson's Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Canada Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Savannah Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Bachman's Sparrow, Henslow's Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Common Loon, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Blue-headed Vireo.

DISK 3: Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Black-Bellied Plover, American Golden-Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Upland Sandpiper, Willet, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Sanderling, Pectoral Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Royal Tern, Caspian Tern, Common Tern, Forster's Tern, Least Tern.

At the end of DISK 3 is a "test." All 96 species are grouped by habitat. The songs and calls are presented, but in a different order from the learning groups. The listener is not told which bird he is listening to. This can be frustrating at first, but is also a good way to learn. I found that the first few times through, I missed practically all of them. But bit-by-bit, I began to identify some of the calls. As I mastered more of the calls, it became easier and easier for me to identify the remaining ones.


Rating:
Summary: Highly useful follow-up to BIRDING BY EAR
Review: The second installment of the "By Ear" series is even more impressive than the previous guide. MORE BIRDING BY EAR has more wood warblers, sandpipers, and terns than BIRDING BY EAR and features the songs and calls of many of the most sought after bird species in Eastern/Central North America.

Once again, Richard Walton introduces each species and takes the listener through the various groupings. The birds are grouped based on habitat and the similarities of their calls. Walton points out key characteristics of each bird call to enhance the listener's learning experince. The handles he suggests for identifying each call are enormously helpful and enhance the listern's experience.

The birds featured on these discs are some of the rarer, hard to find species that can often only be identified by song. Rails, Empidonax flycatchers, cuckoos, kinglets, and a variety of waterbirds are inlcuded on the first disc. The second features around two-dozen warbler species (including the infamous waterthrushes) plus several of the less familar sparrows such as the Bachman's and Grasshopper. The third CD is comprised mostly of shorebirds, and finishes with habiat groups from such birding hotspots as Cape May. These groupings allow the listener to test his or her bird call identification skills. Sprinkled throughout the guide are species calls that tie up loose ends left by the previous discs; common loon, brown creeper, osprey, saw-whet owl, fish crow and blue-headed vireo are just a sample of the variety of species you'll find on this three disc set.

Along with the CDs, a complementry booklet with surprisingly good black-and-white illistrations is included. This helps the listener make visual assocations with the species they are hearing. Room is provided on each page for the listener to take notes on the various bird vocalizations. Page numbers for locating the birds on the plates in the PETERSON FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS: EASTERN/CENTRAL REGION are also provided in the booklet.

MORE BIRDING BY EAR is great learning tool for experienced and novice birders alike. The rails and shorebird sections are very helpful. The second disc is packed with warblers. The authors have done a superb job at covering close to all the birds found in Eastern North America. Between this disc set and the previous one, listeners should be able to learn enough to identifiy most of the birds they can hear while birding in the East. Another great buy.