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Jump to navigationJump to searchBirdwatching With Your Eyes Closed: an introduction to birdsong by Simon Barnes (view source)
Revision as of 08:29, 9 October 2020
, 08:29, 9 October 2020no edit summary
|publisher=Short Books Ltd
|date=November 2011
|summary=An interesting variant on the usual birdwatching field guide. There are virtually no illustrations but author Simon Barnes gets up close and personal to the songs of over sixty birds in his text and accompanying podcast. Try it as a great present for a new birdwatcher.
|cover=1780720475
The book is accompanied by a podcast of around 30 minutes of birdsong, and it is this that really does the business, with a recording of each bird preceded by a brief intro from Simon Barnes. Clearly it's intended to be replayed often enough to become familiar with sixty-six different tunes. On a first hearing, I found this a difficult task, with several species indistinguishable to my uncertain ears, but I have hopes that this sad lack of discrimination will improve if I listen more often.
In all this was a really interesting and unusual book which I'd like to thank the publishers for sending. We also have a review of Barnes' [[Ten Million Aliens by Simon Barnes|Ten Million Aliens]].
If you were actually looking for a comprehensive guide, then the attractive [[Garden Birds and Wildlife by Mike Toms and Paul Sterry]] might be a good choice. I also liked the sound of Simon Barnes' other title: [[How to be a BAD Birdwatcher by Simon Barnes|How to be a bad birdwatcher]].
