John Neville. 2007. Audio 2CD set. Neville Recording. ISBN 978-0-9781797-3-1. $26.00 CAN

An English immigrant, already familiar with the birds of Great Britain, Neville soon realized the importance of bird song as he sought to identify new species in Canada. For two decades he has been recording birds, mostly in Western Canada- from coastal British Columbia east to the Rocky Mountains, and north through the boreal forest to the Arctic tundra.(His Beginner's Guide to Bird Songs of North America was reviewed in Blue Jay, September 2007.) Bird Songs of the North American Prairie, a 2CD set featuring the calls and songs of 166 species of birds, is the result of recent extensive travel across the Canadian and American prairies. The CDs include 138 of his personal recordings; the remaining 28 were contributed by seven other "recordists" whom he recognizes appropriately.

Apart from a short introductory section titled Spring Migration, Neville organizes the birds by habitat:Grassland; Riparian Wetlands; Marshes,Potholes,Lakes and Rivers; Forest; and Cliffs. Nearly all of the recordings are first-rate: clear, typical of the species, and free from background mechanical noise(a real challenge today). The microphone, not particularly directional, frequently picks up other bird species in the background. That is as it should be; birders have to learn to separate individual bird songs, nearly always part of an avian chorus, especially in the early morning. In a few of the recordings, however, the background bird song is intrusive; novices may have trouble deciding where the designated bird leaves off and another takes over. The Spotted Towhee interferes with the Western Meadowlark, for instance.

The listener who simply wants to enjoy prairie bird songs or review all the sounds before spring arrives will likely be satisfied with the arrangement of species on the discs. Anyone wanting to hear birds in a more organized way, especially species that are closely related, won't be as happy. The experienced birder, in particular, will find the arrangement inconvenient and sometimes unpredictable. A number of grassland sparrows are placed together, but inclusion of the White-throated Sparrow, a forest bird, is unfortunate. The Song Sparrow is properly riparian but the Lark Sparrow isn't. The placement of Mountain and Eastern bluebirds is another example. Both birds like open space; the Eastern is placed in grassland, and the Mountain should be there with it , not in the forest. Had Neville increased, even slightly, the number of habitats, organization would have been easier and more credible. Two prairie habitats-1)Farmyards, villages and towns and 2)Coulees- have been overlooked. Eastern and Western Kingbirds are associated with farmyards and small towns; ,so too are Chipping Sparrows, Lark Sparrows, Brown Thrashers, American Robins, House Wre3ns, Baltimore and Bullock's orioles, Warbling Vireos, House Sparrows, and Yellow Warblers. Coulees are the natural habitat of Black-billed Magpies, Sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks, Orange-crowned Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chats, Gray Catbirds, Indigo and Lazuli buntings. Having to place birds in a limited number of habitats diminishes the value of the disc.

Neville briefly introduces each bird song, often naming the place where the recording was made, a valuable addition. A quick check indicates that he recorded in Alberta, Saskatchewan (frequently) and Manitoba, as well as North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Utah, Kansas, Nebraska and Arizona. In some cases, the name of an obscure river or place is not attached to a province or state, an unfortunate over site.

Western Canadian listeners may be surprised at the number of prairie birds that are rare or absent in Canada. We are inclined to forget that prairies extend as far south as Nevada, Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas. Most Canadians will have to cross the border if they want to become familiar with the Greater Prairie-Chicken, Sage Sparrow, Prairie Warbler, Northern Bob-White, Bell's Vireo, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher or Red-bellied Woodpecker. And we consider ourselves fortunate if we happen to hear or see a Greater Sage-Grouse, Eastern Meadowlark, Dickcissel, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Cardinal, Whip-poor-will, or Black-headed Grosbeak. Neville has recorded all of the above species and well over a hundred others, residents in all or part of the Canadian prairie.

A few final observations: In a region as large as the prairies, the songs of a bird species may vary considerably. I have a Saskatchewan-trained ear. Neville's Swainson's Hawk doesn't sound like those around Saskatoon; his Blue Jay (recorded in Kansas) is a far cry from the husky-voiced bird we know. Often we hear a variety of ducks on a slough and cannot readily distinguish the authors of the sound. Neville has included Wood Duck, Mallard, Gadwall, Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, Redhead and Lesser Scaup- an interesting and valuable addition. Something of a surprise, he has also included sounds made by four prairie mammals and two frogs, all well recorded: Coyote, Red Squirrel, Richardson's Ground Squirrel and Black-tailed Prairie Dog; Chorus frog and Northern leopard Frog.

Shorebird recordings are relatively rare and very useful. Neville's shorebirds include Killdeer, Piping Plover, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Marbled Godwit, and Wilson's Phalarope, all good choices. But we do not hear the most familiar migrants like Greater and Lesser yellowlegs, Black-bellied Plovers and Golden Plovers, the two Dowitchers, Semipalmated and Stilt sandpipers, a significant omission in these discs. Instead he has included Sanderling, White-rumped Sandpiper and Baird's Sandpiper, all relatively obscure shorebirds, not readily identified by sound.

Finally, Neville's choice of migratory birds at the beginning of Disc #1 is a strange mix. The sandhill Crane, Tundra Swan and Snow goose are wise choices , but rarely, if ever, do we hear the Whooping Crane as it migrates across the prairies. The Whooper could have been replaced by the more widespread and more vocal White-fronted Goose, omitted from this collection. And if the Harris's Sparrow is a good fit, the White-throated Sparrow, a bird mostly known on the prairies as a migrant, would have been better there than amid grassland sparrows.

Despite some of these reservations I have registered, I believe this set to be one of the most interesting and valuable recordings we have of prairie birds. For the novice, it opens up the prairie bird world; even the experienced birder, familiar with most if not all of the sounds, will appreciate the quality and variety of these two discs.

Reviewed by J. Frank Roy