African bird sounds
Posted by Jane Schlossberg on October 20, 2007
Q: I realize this may be stretching the limits of this forum, but I have always been enthralled by the vocalizations of birds. Recently I have been watching/listening to a live web cam from Botswana, Africa (Pete's Pond) and each time I see a bird, I rush to research and identify the species. It is great fun! But there are yet many unseen by the camera, only heard. Also, many I have identified are not vacalizing audibly on the screen.
I have countless tapes and CD's of North American birds. Any idea of where I might find a similar library of recordings for southern African species?
State: Vermont
A: Thought I'd already sent an answer to you but seems not to have gone - you may receive two answers! This is certainly a valid question. I worked with a Kenyan woman years ago who was identifying African birds by their calls for the laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University. They have a huge collection of bird vocalizations and many are from Africa. You should be able to contact them for info on how to plug in to their collection. Check them out at www.birds.cornell.edu Hope this helps and thanks for asking.
John Wiessinger ( October 22, 2007)