Bird Calls For Beginners Southern Africa by Doug Newman ISBN 9781770076785 ISBN 978-1-77007-678-5

Bird Calls For Beginners, by Doug Newman. ISBN 9781770076785 / ISBN 978-1-77007-678-5

Bird Calls For Beginners, by Doug Newman features 60 common southern African bird calls; the book shows colour photographs of these birds, distribution maps and interesting text about their habits, feeding and nesting routines, and describes their calls.

Doug Newman  

How many of the more common birds of southern Africa can you identify from their calls? Birdsong is everywhere, whether we live in the city or in the country. Without the musical backdrop provided by our feathered friends, our gardens, parks and fields would be relatively silent - and much the poorer for it. Often we hear their calls, but cannot see the birds making them. This easy-to-use package offers insight into the secret world of birds by enclosed CD which features 60 common bird calls. The book presents full-colour photographs of the birds, distribution maps and interesting text about their habits, feeding and nesting routines, and their calls. Invaluable for birders of all ages, this CD and book will open up a new way of recognising birds and understanding their behaviour, and perhaps be the start of an abiding interest in these most tuneful of our fellow inhabitants. Most birds sing at dawn as soon as the sun rises; this is called the 'dawn chorus'. If you have never heard it, get up early and go out into your garden. Listen to how many different types of bird are calling at once and just how wonderful the sound is. Birds call early because sound travels best in the cool morning air, and this means many more neighbours will hear their song. There are as many different bird calls as there are different types of bird. Some birds have a beautiful song, like the Olive Thrush or the Black-throated Canary. Others have harsh, unmusical voices, such as the Pied Crow or the White-breasted Cormorant. Birds use their calls for many different reasons, but most often to protect their territory or to find a mate. Rufous-naped Larks, for instance, call from the tops of bushes or from fence posts. They do this either to tell others that the territory is taken, or to tell mates that they have a territory and are ready to raise chicks. Watch how Common Mynas chatter as they fight over your garden, each laying claim to the territory for raising their young. The author Doug Newman is an electrical engineer and keen amateur ornithologist. The late Len Gillard supplied him with his first parabolic recording dish, inspiring in Newman a particular interest in bird calls. Driven by his passion for birding, and helped by his electrical engineering background, Newman has produced this collection of recorded bird sounds. It is his hope that this book and CD will inspire others to learn about - and be able to identify - the species making up the joyous chorus of our southern African birdlife.

This is an excerpt from the book: Bird Calls For Beginners, by Doug Newman.

Title: Bird Calls For Beginners
Type: Bird Guide
Author: Doug Newman
Imprint: Nature
Publisher: Random House Struik
Cape Town, South Africa 2008
ISBN 9781770076785 / ISBN 978-1-77007-678-5
Softcover, 15x21 cm, 40 pages, 1 Audio CD