Search - Jean C. Roche :: All the Bird Songs of Britain & Europe

The definitive bird song guide for Europe

James Remsen, Jr. | Lindenhurst, NY USA | 03/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a little bit mystified by the other review available for this title. It seems that the reviewer was expecting something other than a CD of bird songs. Well, what SHOULD be on a CD called "All the Bird Songs of Britain and Europe?" In any event, this is one CD out of four which, together, cover virtually all the birds you are likely to hear (as well as a few you aren't likely to hear, but are thoughfully included anyway) on the European continent.If you are familiar with the Stokes bird song guides for North America, this is a similarly formatted production. Jean C. Roche, a veteran French natural sound recordist, has edited this comprehensive guide. One species of bird is given per CD track for easy access to each bird's sounds. Sound quality is as good as it is on the Stokes guides, and the sound samples are generally quite long. Only one caveat: there are no announcements of species' names. I assume that since these discs were produced in France but were to be sold elsewhere as well, the producers simply opted not to include announcements rather than record versions in multiple languages. Thus, if you are listening to the guide all the way through, you will have to follow the liner notes to know which bird you are hearing at a given time. Aside from this, there isn't much to complain about here. If you are going to go birding in Europe, you will have to have this sooner or later. Get all the volumes for a complete guide to European bird sounds."