How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World

I was first introduced to Bird Language by Jon Young 7 years ago. Learning to understand bird communication has changed my life in so many positive ways. This book manages to neatly and concisely compile an extraordinary amount of ancient knowledge and wisdom, and serve it in an easily digestible manner. All that, and it's fun to read! I highly recommend this book for anyone, not just birders!

The text of the book seems promising, however the Kindle edition is EXTREMELY frustrating as there is no access to the audio files. The explanations of the bird songs and calls in the book need the audio files in order to understand what it is the Author is explaining. Had to give up reading just a few chapters in. Very disappointing.

This is a VERY disappointing KINDLE book. My husband tried to read it on his Kindle Paper White and NONE of the audio files played, since the Paper White does not have a speaker. He then tried to read this book on his Windows 10 Tablet and this book "is not available for Windows 8".
He is VERY interested in bird language and is actually leading small local bird walks. He wanted to learn more, but without the audio files the book was very frustrating to him and he gave up reading about halfway through

This is a unique and very important book that allows people to learn skills that are almost gone from modern society. Anyone who has or wishes to have a connection to our natural world should read this book. It is well written and easy to understand. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because of the frequent references to evolutionary thinking, Jon Young obviously believes in those theories and it influences his speculation on some of the bird behavior.

Very disappointed. I get the message "There is audio content at this location that is not currently supported on your device" on both Kindle for Mac, and my droid phone Kindle whenever I try to listen to audio. I got the Kindle version for the audio specifically. Otherwise I would have gotten a paperback...

Very disappointed. The author appears very knowledgeable and passionate (at least in words, if not actions) about wildlife not only in wild places, but also in our own backyards. But he inserts so much about himself into the writing, it comes across that he is one of the favored few that has developed the knowledge; virtually the super-powers; to understand nature. And, due to his humanity (ironically), he's willing to share that knowledge with us. There's interesting and insightful moments in this book, but much of it is overwhelmed or eclipsed by a writer who often doesn't seem to practice what he preaches.

The subtitle of this very readable book is “How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World.” By this Jon Young means if you know how to listen to their calls and songs you will extend your awareness of what is going on around you. The birds will tell you if a potential predator, for example, has just passed this way or is coming this way. You will get a feel for the state of the environment you’re in.

In the opening chapter, “A Cacophony of Harmony,” Young tells us that birds have languages, and that their songs—which are the best vocalizations for identification—are only part of their language. He writes, “Observers of bird languages listen to, identify, and interpret five vocalizations”: songs, companion calls, territorial aggression, adolescent begging, and alarms.

With a good ear (I wish I had one) and some practice you can set the baseline vocalizations of the habitat and then listen to vocal patterns that reveal changes from the baseline. You’ll be able to identify individual bird territories. In other words what this book is about is helping to make you a world class birder.

Young emphasizes practice leading to what he calls “a visceral connection with the subject.” (p. 48) One of the tools involved in gaining this connection is “The Sit Spot” (title of Chapter 4). Everybody knows that when you walk in a habitat where there are birds they will often give warning calls about your presence and then go quiet. You won’t hear them and you’ll probably not see them as well. However if you set up a “sit spot” somewhere in the environment and practice just sitting and listening you will (as Yogi said) hear a lot. The birds will get use to you and resume their vocalizations.

Some years ago when I would explore the chaparral shrublands in southern California I discovered that after I folded up my legs and sat down on the ground and just watched and listened for a while I would not only hear birds singing but I would see animals sneaking around to get a closer look at me. Usually it would take twenty minutes to half an hour and then a rabbit, or a hare, and maybe a deer would appear shyly among the vegetation. Once a coyote eyed me curiously from perhaps fifty feet away. I was a bit startled and stood up. The coyote turned and walked slowly away looking back at me and the birds switched from singing to alarms and silence. Sometimes vultures would fly in close to get a better look at me perhaps entertaining the fond hope that I had stop breathing.

Young has used his knowledge of bird language to discover animals that otherwise he would never have noticed. In the chapter “An Alarm for Every Occasion” he shows how you can follow the alarms of one bird to another bird and actually track the course of whatever animal it is that the birds are worried about. He writes, “There, hear that? The Pacific wren is alarmed… Now his mate…Now the song sparrow…”

I bought the hardcover edition of this book but the Kindle edition might be more valuable because of the audio editing by Dan Gardoqui.

--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”

This book is designed around a set of audio files of bird calls and sounds that are not included in the book. These audio files are on a web site, but they can not be downloaded to your PC. They can only be played directly from the web site. So forget about reading this book anyplace but in front of your computer. If you are reading it on a Kindle or other portable reader, you will also have to leave your wi-fi connection on which will run down the battery faster.

And when they eventually take down the web site, your book will be worthless.

This book is good for anyone who is serious about learning how to observe and be more aware of birds and other creatures in the environment. The last chapter actually lists the steps you can follow to become a good observer.

I wouldn't recommend this book to just anyone, but if you enjoy the outdoors and want to gain a better understanding of it, this book is probably for you. It's not just about birds.

It doesn't teach you much about specific species (though it does give examples), but more so it gives you the tools to go out and learn about things for yourself.

It is a bit draggy in spots, but overall you should definitely read this book if you want to get more in tune with nature.

I love birds and began to practice the teachings in the book right away. I was sitting on my deck and became aware of a silence I would have missed before I read the book. I looked up and saw the circling hawk that had sent the silenced birds to cover. So easy. So much impact on my understanding of wildlife. I have become aware of other bird events I would have missed before. I am grateful for wonderful new insights.

Young turns birdwatching into constructive therapy, helping people slow down, connect, listen, and discover a world of inter-species relations going on all around them. It's an eye-opening book that raised my awareness of how I interact with other creatures, even if I am absolutely oblivious of doing so. While reading how bird signals ripple through the landscape, I missed my subway stop twice. I suspect that bird language camp really can be one of the finest experiences available for self-absorbed individuals like myself.

The Kindle version I received does not support the audio files that the author uses to illustrate points in the book.

This is very frustrating and fairly common with Kindle versions--tables do not display correctly, and sometimes text is out of order. I have returned the Kindle version and purchased the physical book on several occasions. I would think the Kindle versions cost enough that better proofreading could be employed.

I wish I could review the book and the Kindle version separately. It seems unfair to the author that a book that I think probably rates 5 stars only gets 1 because I cannot access the book properly in the Kindle version. I have chosen the rating for Kindle over the rating for content because I want to warn people about the problem in the book so they do not waste their money.

This is really a book about tracking which is something of a lost art. Your senses will expand and you will know how to walk in the "zone of silence". Wonderful knowledge well presented with good illustrations.

What the Robin Knows unfolds layers of understanding with easy to read stories, leading to my own discoveries with the animal world. This book has helped me learn what is happening beyond what I can see either when I am watching nature through my kitchen window or out in the woods. I highly recommend this book!