BOOK REVIEWS 
Bird Songs of the Pacific Northwest, by Geoffrey A. Keller and Gerrit Vyn. 
2008. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. 5-CD set, including a 57-page booklet, 
$39.95. 
This set of five compact disks contains 931 separate recordings covering 316 
species from the Pacific Northwest. This area is not defined, but to judge from a map 
on the back cover of the booklet it includes southwestern British Columbia, all of 
Washington and Oregon, the canyonlands of southwestern Idaho, and about a 100- 
mile swath of northern California. Each species receives its own track. Each track 
begins with the species’ name, and individual cuts within each track are separated 
by a brief pause. 
The booklet includes a short paragraph titled “Using This Audio Guide” that 
explains the information included in the descriptions of the tracks. After the acknowl- 
edgments and before the descriptions is a list of contributing recordists. A total of 
69 recordists contributed recordings, including some of historical interest, such as 
that of the Black Oystercatcher by Arthur A. Allen. The primary author provided the 
lion’s share of the recordings (38%), while the secondary author, serving primarily as 
producer and studio engineer, provided a little more than 5%. 
Other major recordists are David H. Herr (8.1%), Thomas G. Sander (6.6%), and 
Randolph S. Little (6%). In the descriptions of the tracks, each track’s number is 
followed by the species’ name, followed by a list of recordings of that species with a 
brief description of each vocalization type, often with notes comparing it to sounds 
of similar species as well as an attempt at transcribing the sounds into print with the 
English alphabet. Also included are location by state or province (or country in a few 
examples), month, Macauley Library (ML) catalog number, and initials of the recordist. 
I found it very easy to follow the descriptions while listening to the recordings. The 
booklet concludes with an index to the species’ English names. 
Quality of Recordings. As we have come to expect from Keller’s collaborations 
with the Macauley Library, the quality of the recordings is outstanding overall. The 
beginnings and endings of the cuts are cleanly and artfully edited without any irritating 
fading away in the middle of song phrases. Some cuts do have recognizable background 
noises, but they are always minimal and do not detract from the species portrayed. If 
any were edited to reduce background noise none have the typically tinny or tunnel 
effect that usually results from such treatment. All are a pleasure to listen to. 
Species Selection. This “audio guide” is said to be focused on species “that breed 
within this region but also includes calls of many migrants and winter visitors one 
is likely to encounter.” There are, in fact, so many nonbreeding species included I 
wonder why any were left out at all. Some rather uncommon ones, such as the Black 
Scoter, were included while more common ones, such as the Greater Scaup and 
White-winged and Surf Scoters, were not. The Rock Sandpiper was included; the 
Surfbird was not. The Common Redpoll was included; the Palm Warbler was not. At 
least six species known to breed (even if rarely) in the region were left out altogether: 
the Horned Grebe, Cattle Egret, Northern Hawk Owl, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, 
Blue Grosbeak, Great-tailed Grackle, and White-winged Crossbill. This makes the 
inclusion of two rarities in the region utterly incongruous: Virginia’s Warbler and, 
especially, the Red-throated Pipit. Sure, it’s nice to have an excellent recording of 
calls of the latter, no matter how brief the cut (at 8 seconds the briefest treatment of 
any species), but then why not include the Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Eurasian Kestrel, 
Brambling, etc.? 
Vocalization Types. This set is clearly intended to be a wide-ranging, if not com- 
prehensive, collection of species and vocalization types, not just an identification aid 
(the Turkey Vulture and American White Pelican are included, after all). Nor is it, as 
the title suggests, simply a collection of songs. Most tracks begin with the primary 
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Western Birds 40:242-246, 2009 
