Hi Peggi,

After a somewhat frustrating start at learning to bird by ear using the Western
edition of Peterson's Birding by Ear, an experienced birder advised me to first
concentrate on learning the songs only for the most common local birds. There's
a nice tape tape for the pacific northwest which I think Portland Audubon
produces. Sorry I can't be more specific, but my copy is out on loan right now.
The songs are all recorded locally so the dialects are "correct".

Once I knew the common locals well, I did find the Peterson's Birding by Ear
useful to expand my knowledge of bird song. (I was also spending a lot less time
straining to figure out that the little brown bird calling from the back of the
bushes was a Junco.) Even though the dialects on Petersons are sometimes
different from the local birds, knowing the basic song pattern is often enough
to make the connection with the song I'm hearing.

The tapes are no substitute for time spent in the field listening and watching
the real thing sing, but I do find them beneficial.

Good Birding,

Kirk Scarbrough
Kent, WA
103250.3074 at compuserve.com

On Fri, 28 Jun 1996 08:21:01 Peggi & Ben Rodgers <prodgers at efn.org> wrote:

>She also mentioned the locational dialects in songs, making it difficult to
>ID a bird in your area unless the recording had been made in your area.

>So how good are the tapes? Are they worth the money?