Improve your bird identification skills, discover new birds, and find joy in the weird and wonderful calls of 101 birds from around the world in this hilarious, informative, and vibrantly illustrated guide to bird sounds. Through memorable and laugh-worthy mnemonic devices, this book will help you get to know the world of birds, whether you are a novice or a seasoned birder.
Have you ever gone for a walk in the woods and wondered what bird was making a sound like a siren going off, or somebody revving a chainsaw engine-or sneezing? Do you hear birds every day, in the park or your neighborhood, but never know quite what you are listening to?
Birds are singing all around us, and author and illustrator Becca Rowland (@GirlinWhiteGlasses on Instagram with over 173k followers, and TikTok with over 256k followers) connects the dots between their songs and the birds who make them who make them, helping you to easily identify and remember their calls. Combining illustrations of 101 birds from around the world-from the common to the rare-with fascinating facts and memorable and whimsical descriptions of their calls, this book is full of humor and charm. From space lasers to cheeseburgers, Bird Talk introduces you to the weird and wonderful world of bird songs.
Becca Rowland, an artist and writer from Nova Scotia, Canada, draws inspiration from her mum's knack for identifying birds by their sounds. Having explored all seven continents and lived on four, Rowland's art reflects her fascination with the diverse birds she has seen worldwide. Find her on Instagram and TikTok: @girlinwhiteglasses. Introduction
It is a truth universally acknowledged that we will all go through our own bird era. For some, it starts when we are young, a fascination with nature, a pet bird, a cartoon parrot from a beloved children's movie.
For others, and I dare say the majority, it happens later in our lives. One day we will astonish ourselves with how extremely excited we become at seeing the crimson flash of a red cardinal landing in a tree, get goosebumps at finally hearing the eerie tone of loon on a lake in the early morning, or have an otherworldly moment locking eyes with an owl resting in a tree, as if seeing magic itself. There are billions of birds in the world, more than 10,000 different species, and they are top of the list for animals that we know of by sound.
Learning their sounds is akin to learning a language and at best we're going to be able to ask for directions to the train station. But when you get it, and know which bird you've just heard you level up a little.
For me, connecting the bird sounds to tangible, explainable noises like water dripping from a leaky faucet or a phone vibrating on a table, made them memorable and solid in my brain. Now, not every bird sound has an explainable counterpart. Songbirds, like warblers and wrens, are so melodic and musical that they sound exactly like that, like music. And we've all tried to explain a tune to friends with some bad humming or off-key singing to know how excruciating that can be.
Birds have different calls and sounds for locations, time of day, alarms, when they are being flirtatious, and heaps of other situations. This book won't explain each sound or call they make. It will try to make a connection to a sound you know to one of the sounds that a bird makes – but don't let this description stop you. Get out there and find your own noises to remember and learn the birds you hear. Write your own language.
Great Blue Heron
If it sounds like a chainsaw, it's a Great Blue Heron.
If you are out by the water (they love a river, big fan of a marsh) and hear the deep sounds of a chainsaw revving up, it might be one of these majestic birds. It could also be someone cutting down a tree, be aware of your surroundings.
If it is a great blue heron, you might want to think before complaining
