New Palearctic bird sound recordings
during 1971-72
Patrick Sellar
Through pressure of other commitments, Jeffery Boswall has regrettably had to relinquish the preparation of further additions to his
well-known discography. The task of bringing this up to date is well
overdue. The reference number system has proved convenient to
readers and is therefore continued from the last review (Boswall
1971). Reference numbers from this and previous parts of the discography (listed on page 310) are printed in bold type.
The last review of new discs covered those coming to the author's
notice in 1970. It is evident from the output for 1971 and 1972
that the number of new issues is in considerable decline. This is
hardly surprising, having in mind the number of sets of discs already
on the market covering a wide range of European species. The
prodigious output of Jean-Claude Roche alone has enabled the collector to possess recordings of 372 of the 469 species described in the
main body of the 1966 edition of the Field Guide. These are still available in the three well-documented volumes of the Guide Sonore des
Oiseaux d'Europe, to which may be added five further European
species from his Maghreb set (see 68, 75,100,101,10a, 115 and 133).
On a less ambitious scale and not well documented, one might
have collected all 40 discs produced by Swedish Radio with the
sounds of 292 species, mostly recorded by the indefatigable Sture
Palmer (see 34 and 104). Or, for those interested primarily in British
birds, Witherby's Sound-Guide (13a) is available on two discs featuring
194 species. The situation has all the symptoms of having reached
a crossroads, and it will be interesting to see in what way future
issues, whether in the form of disc, tape reel or cassette, will develop.
But before speculating further, let us first examine the material at
hand for the past two years.
Without doubt the publication of a new set of Swedish Radio discs
(see 15a below) is far and away the most ambitious compilation in
the 60 years of bird voice publication, representing the culmination
ofover 30 years' effort by Sture Palmer. The old set of 40 discs referred
to above were 7-inch extended-play. The new issue runs to twelve
full-size long-playing discs covering the main species and a further
two (shortly to be published) covering the accidentals. All the
recordings are well documented in a leaflet accompanying each
303
304
Pakarctic bird sound recordings during
igyi-ys
disc. The arrangement has been set out to complement the 1966
edition of the Field Guide, and this it does most effectively. For each
species the page numbers are quoted for the text, map and illustrations. This degree of co-operation with the authors and publishers
of the Field Guide is to be congratulated, more especially as it is understood that future editions of the book will carry references to the
discs throughout, thus vastly simplifying the reader's task of organising the correct sound to accompany the field description. As it is,
the phonetic transcriptions given in the leaflets are, wherever possible, the same as those printed in the Field Guide, thus further and
most usefully integrating the two works. As would be expected in a
work on this massive scale, there are many sounds to be heard which
are not mentioned in the book at all and which represent new and
original ornithological data.
The work is not merely a re-issue of the old set of EP discs in a new
format. Although some of the original recordings have been used
again, there is a large amount of new material. Over 450 of the basic
469 species are featured, and discs 13 and 14 will cover 80 of the 114
vagrants. This is the largest number of species ever brought together
in one set of bird discs. Mr Palmer has enlisted the help of other
recordists: particularly welcome is the substantial contribution from
Dr Claude Chappuis, whose recordings are very often characterised
bv an excithw intimacv: and valuable too are the conversational
calls between adults and chick in several species of waders, contributed by Dr Lorenz Ferdinand. There are also many superb recordings from William Gunn in Canada. Despite the many different
sources of material, the work maintains a remarkable consistency of
quality; the only obvious error is that the call of the Saker Falco
cherrug has been copied on to the disc at half speed.
Altogether this is a splendid achievement by any standards, but
nevertheless there remains a great deal of important and interesting
work still to do, as the authors readily admit. The intention is to
produce a second edition filling many of the gaps. With the production based in Sweden, it comes as no great surprise that the skuas,
gulls and terns fare badly while the owls are quite superb. One disappointing feature is the number of fairly widespread species for
which the main and most useful identification calls are missing. We
are given no flight call for the Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus, nor the
characteristic call of the male Dotterel Eudromias morinellus. There is
no call given for the Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus, to compare with
that of the Goldcrest R. regulus. The omissions from the vocabulary
of the skuas, gulls and terns are too numerous to list. Sabine's Gull
Larus sabini can scarcely be heard above the din of Arctic Terns
Sterna paradisaea, though the latter are not mentioned in the text.
The piping of the Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula is that of the northern
Palearctic bird sound recordings during 1Q71-J2
305
race: there is a marked difference in pitch between this and the call
of more southern birds, but the opportunity to compare them has
been missed. No attempt has been made to adopt a scientific approach to the vocabulary of the House Sparrow Passer domesticus, the
recording fading out just as a different call is heard. Lastly, the
diagnostic 'tek' flight call of the Tree Sparrow P. montanus is absent.
It is hoped that these and many other omissions of lesser importance
will be filled by active recordists whose help in producing a second
edition is strongly commended.
I have left to this point the highly debatable electronic stereo
treatment of the sounds. The recordings were taken mono in the field
but were subjected in the laboratory to processing by an electronic
splitting circuit capable of apportioning variable sound levels to
left- and right-hand channels. The stereo effect has thus been artificially achieved, though these discs may, of course, be played mono
if desired. It contributes nothing to the scientific value of the recordings, but in some cases at least, adds a measure of presence and atmosphere for the listener. Where the idea runs into trouble is in the
attempt to deal with background sounds, which in some instances are
heard to move from left to right, keeping pace with the bird sounds.
Although obviously artificial, this effect does not offend the ear. In
many cases, however, particularly if the singer is stationary, an
attempt to re-create a stereo effect has involved the use of a much
less tolerable device: a sound rather like a heavy lorry in the background slowly moves from one channel to the other. The effect is
quite damaging for some species and is especially evident among
the owls and woodpeckers. Other kinds of artificially introduced
backgrounds also call for criticism: for example, precisely the same
babbling brook is to be heard throughout the entire series of recordings of Willow Tit Parus montanus obtained in France, Sweden,
Austria and Germany.
To Jeffery Boswall goes the credit for the presentation of the text.
This is painstakingly clear and accurate, complete with timings in
seconds so that exactly the right call can be reliably identified while
playing the discs. The discs themselves are fairly clearly banded,
with single blank scrolls between species and wider bands between
groups of species. The system breaks down only in disc 11 where
there is no scroll between Greenfinch Carduelis chloris and Siskin
C. spinas, nor between Trumpeter Finch Rhodopechys githaginea and
Scarlet Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus; while on side B of disc 9, band 3
runs into band 4 without visual spacing. It is also Jeffery Boswall
who introduces each species throughout the set by announcing its
scientific name. This he does loud and clear, if somewhat pontifically. Although claiming to have sought the best advice available at
the time, his pronunciation nevertheless occasions surprise here and
there: henceforth we are evidently to render Cisticola as 'kisticola'.
306
Palearctic bird sound recordings during 1971-72
These criticisms are small in comparison with the total achievement and are mentioned only in an attempt to help the listener and
in the hope that they may be considered when the time comes to
prepare the second edition. Meanwhile this first edition is strongly
commended as the definitive work of reference on European bird
sounds, and one of particular value to those who revere the Peterson
Field Guide.
None of the other sets of discs received and listed below calls for a
full review, though brief notes are given on each. I am indebted to
Jeffery Boswall for his appraisal of 148, a major part of which was
compiled by myself.
The two years under review have seen the issue of the most comprehensive European sound guide ever produced. This may well
prove to represent not only the crowning achievement in this field,
but also the last of its kind. It is hoped that additions and improvements to its repertoire will be a continuous process over the years,
but it seems probable that other publishers will take a different line.
For example, there appears to be a very real need for shorter sound
guides aimed specifically to assist in field identification, especially in
the range of migrant calls. For convenience these could well be in the
form of tape cassettes, using a system of numbers announced on the
tape for swift location of individual species. Cassettes have already
been produced by the Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University,
Ithaca, N.Y., for North American thrushes, nightjars and cuckoos,
and by the Danish Ornithological Society for house and garden birds.
It is hoped that before long someone will produce a cassette with the
migration calls of Palearctic waders.
It seems a pity that in Britain there is evidently no means of
supplying small flexible discs with scientific journals, as has been
done, for instance, in France (see 127). Examples of duetting in bird
song would greatly benefit from publication in this form, as would
sounds illustrated by spectrograms appearing with the text. So,
although there has been a prolific output of material on disc, there is a
conspicuous need for an inexpensive means of scientific publication of
live sound.
Looking to the future, it seems likely that more discs will be
published in real stereo. Indeed, it is hoped that at least some of the
electronic stereo recordings in the new Swedish Radio set will be
replaced by real stereo in the next edition. This is, however, a painstaking process which contributes little to the recording other than
enhancement of the pleasure in listening to it. Previous issues in real
stereo reviewed to date are 63, 80, 85, 92, 136 and 137, contributed
by recordists Wahlstrom and Aberg, Traber, Nakatsubo, Kabaya,
Traber and Reisinger respectively.
Pakarctic bird sound recordings during 1971-J2
307
Finally, another idea which could well blossom in the future is
that of allowing birds to be heard singing with other species among
the sounds of their natural environment, preferably in stereo and for
an ample length of time uninterrupted by any announcements, and
later of presenting the song of each species on its own in close-up with
any necessary verbal introduction. Only by this means is the listener
given a true impression of how a particular species sounds in the
field. This idea was first attempted by Victor Lewis (129 and 141)
and further explored by Jean-Claude Roche (134) and Hans Traber
(I36)FURTHER ADDITIONS TO THE DISGOGRAPHY
145. KIRBY, JOHN. 1971. Listen . . .the Birds! Six 7-inch, 33.3 rpm,
nos. 13 to 18, European Phono Club, Amsterdam. Obtainable
from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge,
Sandy, Bedfordshire SGIO. 2DL, and the Dutch Society for Bird
Protection, Reguliersgracht 9, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
These six discs are successors to the same recordist's earlier sets
(57 and 77). Some of the less often recorded species on these discs
are Shore Lark Eremophila alpestris and Ptarmigan (no. 15); Sanderling Calidris alba and Dotterel (no. 16); and Waxwing Bombycilla
garrulus, Fieldfare Turdus pilaris and Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
(no. 17). No information is given on the localities or dates of recordings, but space is devoted instead to helpful explanations of the
sounds, together with pleasing pen-and-ink sketches of each species.
There are no verbal announcements. The surface noise is obtrusive
and the reproduction rather lacking in bass, the latter especially
noticeable in the recording of the Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis.
146. SIMMS, ERIC. 1971. Sea and Island Birds. One 12-inch, 33.3 rpm,
RED IOOM, B.B.C. Wildlife Series 12. B.B.C. Radio Enterprises.
Fifty-three species of seabirds, wildfowl and waders selected as a
tribute to the late James Fisher. The recordings are mostly from the
B.B.C. Sound Archives and date from the 1950's, though about
one-third are from the early Swedish Radio discs. All contributing
sources are acknowledged. Sounds from the birds are kept very short,
while Eric Simms takes up much time introducing each species. The
last band is devoted to the Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus and includes
interesting sounds of cows singing and pups food-begging.
147. SIMMS, ERIC. 1972. A Year's Journey. One 12-inch 33.3 rpm, RED
135M, B.B.C. Wildlife Series 13. B.B.C. Radio Enterprises.
Recordings from the B.B.C. television series for schools. The 14
bands are related to the different places visited in the first year's
series of programmes.
308
Palearctic bird sound recordings during
igji-j2
148. SELLAR, PATRICK, and LEWIS, VICTOR. 1972. Bird Song Adventure.
One 12-inch, 33.3 rpm and four-page leaflet, GGL 0485, Golden
Guinea series. Pye Records (Sales) Ltd, A.T.V. House, Great Cumberland Place, London W i .
Exceptionally good value at £1, with a superb sleeve design by
Robert Gillmor, this record presents the voices of 55 species, including the very rarely taped Barrow's Goldeneye Bucephala islandica,
Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum, Ural Owl Strix uralensis and Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola. The eight species recorded
in England are by Vic Lewis; the remainder, from Finland, Sweden,
Shetland, Iceland and Greenland, are by Patrick Sellar. Very few
bird voices from Greenland have previously been published. The
technical quality is excellent. If the names of the species had been
spoken on the disc, one would be able to locate them more easily
than by trying to count the bands and sub-bands; neither can one
be certain when one has moved to die next species. The birds would
thereby have been deprived of only a fraction of needle time. The
quick guide to the contents on the sleeve lacks six species, is inconsistent, and is misleading when used to direct die reader to the right
sub-band on the disc. In the leaflet, the commentary to band 1
on side A gives the impression that there are ten sub-bands, whereas
there are eight.
J E F F E R Y BOSWALL
149. UNGER, OLDRICH. 1971. The Sound Atlas of Nature—i (Czech).
One 1 o-cm tape spool recorded half-track at 9.5 cm/sec, Czechoslovak
Radio. Obtainable (at the time of review) from Ceskoslovensky
rozhlas, Vinohradska 12, Prague 2, for 120 Czech crowns.
Twenty park and marsh bird species are covered on this tape, the
first part of a plan to publish a complete atlas of Czechoslovak fauna.
The tape comes in a strong box together with leaflets giving descriptions (in Czech) and rather indifferent coloured illustrations of
the birds. Scientific names are announced on the tape, and the
quality of recording is consistently good with plenty of time devoted
to each species. There is one unfortunate error: items 1/2/5 a n ( ^ I / 2 /9
are both of River Warbler Locustellafluviatilis, and not Grasshopper
Warbler L. naevia as stated.
150. HANZAK, JAN, and PELZ, PAVEL. 1971. Singers of our Forests
(Czech). One 7-inch, 33.3 rpm, o 89 9864. National Museum of
Prague.
Twenty-six passerines, all common, widespread and frequently
recorded except Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes and Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis.
J E F F E R Y BOSWALL
151. VEPRINTSEV, BORIS. (Year unknown.) The Voices of Birds (Russian).
One 7-inch, 33.3 rpm, 0009857/8. All-Union Studio of disc record-
Patearctic bird sound recordings during igyi-j2
309
ing, Mezhdunarodnaja Kniga, 32-34 Smolensk Square, Moscow 200.
Includes a recording of Great Snipe Gallinago media.
J E F F E R Y BOSWALL
152. PALMER, STURE and BOSWALL, JEFFERY. 1969-72. A Field Guide
to the Bird Songs of Britain and Europe. Twelve 12-inch, 33.3 rpm in
electronic stereo, RFLP 5001-5012. Swedish Radio. Obtainable (at
the time of review) from Svenska EMI, Tritonvagen 17, 172 39
Sundbyberg, Sweden, for 27 S.Kr. each disc, exclusive of freight.
See detailed review on pages 304-306. Some 450 species span this
first issue of twelve discs, and 80 accidentals are to be published on
a further two. The species are arranged in the same order as in the
revised and enlarged 1966 English-language edition of A Field Guide
to the Birds of Britain and Europe, by R. T. Peterson, G. Mountfort
and P.A.D. Hollom (Collins, London). An introductory selection of
37 species was published as RFLP 5020 in May 1969. The species
are divided between the 14 records as follows:
RFLP 5001 Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata to Bewick's Swan Cygnus bewickii
RFLP 500a Ruddy Shelduck Tadomafirruginea to Kestrel Fako tinmmculus
RFLP 5003 Willow (Red) Grouse Lagopus lagopus to Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scohpaceus
RFLP 5004 Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus to Ivory Gull PagophUa ebumea
RFLP 5005 Black Tern Chlidonias niger to Great Grey Owl Strix nebulosa
RFLP 5006 Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus to Skylark Alauda arvensis
RFLP 5007 Sand Martin Riparia riparia to Lanceolated Warbler Locustdla lanceolata
RFLP 5008 Moustached Warbler Lusciniola (—Acrocephalus) melanopogon to Greenish
Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides
RFLP 5009 Goldcrest Regulus regulus to Red-flanked Bluetaii Tarsiger cyanurus
RFLP 5010 Olive-backed Thrush Catharus ustulatus to Short-toed Treecreeper
Certhia brachydactyla
RFLP 5011 Corn Bunting Emberiza adtmdra to Scarlet Rosefinch Carpoiacus
trythrinus
RFLP 5012 Pine Grosbeak Pinicola enucleator to Raven Corvus corax
RFLP 5013 Pied-billed Grebe PodUymbus podiceps to Nighthawk Chordiiles minor
RFLP 5014 Needle-tailed Swift Hirundapus caudacutus to Daurian Jackdaw Corvus
dawricus
153. DANISH ORNITHOLOGICAL SOGIETY. 1972. House and Garden Birds
(Danish), vol i. One tape cassette. Obtainable from Dansk Ornithologisk Forening, Faelledvej 9, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
Thirty-six common species on cassette.
REFERENCES
The bold figures are the reference numbers of the discs or sets reviewed in each
part. Andr£ Tesson's two discs numbered 121 in Boswall (1970) are re-designated
laiA, since the former number had already been used for Sten Wahlstrom's The
Mysterious Calls in Boswall (1969b).
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Palearctic bird sound recordings during
igji-72
BOSWAIX, J . 1964. 'A discography of Palearctic bird sound recordings'. Brit. Birds,
57: special supplement. (1-69)
1966. 'New Palearctic bird sound recordings in 1964-65'. Brit, Birds, 59: 27-37.
{70-81)
1969a. 'New Palearctic bird sound recordings during 1966-67'. Brit. Birds,
63:49-65.(82-104)
1969b. 'New Palearctic bird sound recordings during 1968'. Brit. Birds,
6 2 : 371-281. (105-121)
1970. 'New Palearctic bird sound recordings during 1969'. Brit. Birds,
63: 324-332- (KiA-133)
-—— 1971. 'New Palearctic bird sound recordings during 1970'. Brit. Birds,
64: 431-434- ( I 33-*44)
Patrick Sellar, 8g Riddlesdown Road, Purley, Surrey GR2 IDH