BOOK REVIEWS 
been borrowed (it’s clear that the drums of this species are the same on both CDs, 
after all). The Spruce Grouse recorded in Maine is of a subspecies quite different from 
the one found in the Northwest (maybe even a different species), and a Northern 
Mockingbird call from Florida is from an unnecessarily distant location. 
Booklet Notes. The notes describing the vocalizations are in general good but 
uneven in quality and usefulness. They are helpful in the examples comparing the 
Pacific-slope and Cordilleran Flycatchers but not for the Dusky and Sooty Grouse, 
where the former is said to be lower in pitch than the latter, though both my ear and 
the RavenLite sound-editing software indicate that they are in fact at the same pitch. 
The comparisons of woodpecker drumming are particularly useful. The first Yellow- 
rumped Warbler song is said to be similar to that of the Northern Junco (sic), but it 
sounds nothing like the simple trill of the Dark-eyed Junco cuts. Mimicry is mentioned 
in several species, but in others, such as Steller’s Jay, Fox Sparrow, and Pine Siskin, it 
is ignored; only for the Gray Catbird, Sage Thrasher, and European Starling are some 
of the mimicked species mentioned. More notes on the behavior of the bird being 
recorded would have been useful, such as whether the call was given as an alarm near 
a nest, though sometimes it is noted if the bird is “agitated” (Red-breasted Nuthatch) 
or “perturbed” (Sora). The last two cuts for Brewer’s Blackbird, for example, are not 
of typical call notes, and it would have been useful to know under what circumstances 
these particular calls were given. 
Misidentifications. Finally, one last gripe is the misidentification of at least three 
cuts: the chuck notes attributed to a Hermit Thrush (second cut) are of a Varied Thrush, 
the first example of a Fesser Goldfinch song is actually of a Fawrence’s Goldfinch, and 
the supposed call notes of a Nashville Warbler are those of a MacGillivray’s Warbler. 
The third cut of the White-crowned Sparrow (labeled as a Mountain White-crowned 
Sparrow, “interior race,” ME 42273) is definitely not that and is apparently the result 
of a mix-up in the studio; the recording with that catalog number at the ME website is 
indeed of a Mountain White-crowned Sparrow and is not the same as the recording 
on the CD. With a bit of searching, I found that the recording on the CD is actually 
ML 43976, recorded on the Oregon coast, and sounds like a White-crowned Sparrow 
that mistakenly learned a House Finch song — a fascinating and rare recording that I’m 
glad was included. Unfortunately, we are left without Keller’s fabulous recording of the 
distinctive song of the Mountain White-crowned Sparrow from Hart Mountain, which 
to hear you must go to the website and listen to ML catalog number 42273. 
Summary. The variety of vocalizations and heretofore unpublished vocalization 
types make this set one of the most valuable and interesting of publications by Keller 
and Cornell. The owls alone make it worth the purchase, and despite the few fail- 
ings, it is an excellent product and one that all birders spending time in the Pacific 
Northwest should own. 
I thank Will Russell for his insights and comments. 
Rich Hoyer 
Memoirs of a Wildlife Biologist, by David B. Marshall. 2008. Audubon Society 
of Portland, 5151 NW Cornell Rd, Portland, OR 97210; 503-292-9453. 220 pages, 
paper quarto, $21.75. Issued without ISBN. 
I decided to ignore the convention that discourages people from reviewing books 
by their friends because in this case there is some virtue in having a reviewer who 
knows the people and the subjects to a certain extent. I admit that I was a co-editor, 
with Dave Marshall and Matt Hunter, of Birds of Oregon: A General Reference. 
Marshall’s memoir, issued privately through the Audubon Society of Portland, is far, 
far more than a personal recollection. It is in effect a compact history of the wildlife 
refuge system in the Far West, told through the experiences of someone who helped 
build the refuges from scratch. 
244 
