The Bird Watching Answer Book Card

Two-color; illustrations throughout; 400 pages; 4⁄/™ x 6‹/•; Flexibind: $14.95 US; ISBN: 978-1-60342-452-3; No. 62452 8-copy counter display: $119.60 US; ISBN: 978-16034-503-2; No: 62503

Answers for Birders The latest in Storey’s bestselling Answer Book series, now with half a million copies in print!

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ith questions from real bird lovers and answers by an expert from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, The Bird Watching Answer Book is not your typical guidebook. Filled with detailed information and fun facts sure to pique the curiosity of bird watchers everywhere, The Bird Watching Answer Book is perfect for birders of all ages.

Q

I’m pretty good at imitating bird calls, but there are some songs, like the Wood Thrush’s, that I find impossible to whistle. I can’t come close to imitating the shimmery, complex quality of its song. How does it do that?

A

Birds produce sounds with their syrinx (literally “song box”), which is situated at the very base of the trachea and the top of the two bronchial tubes. By controlling the muscles of the syrinx, some birds can make one set of sounds with the left branch and a different set of sounds with the right, producing harmony with their own voice. The most complicated sets of muscles in the syrinx belong to the thrushes, which is why so many of their songs sound so ethereal.

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