John Neville, 2007.Neville Recording ISBN 0-9781797-1-4 NR11 2CDset with 118 bird species. 1^st CD-49.19 mins, 2^nd CD-62.27 mins. Price from www.nevillerecording.com

When I was asked to review this CD set, I was a bit apprehensive as I have never really listened to a Cd of bird-song from start to finish. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. John Neville takes you on a journey, two really, the first being from January to December and the second from habitat to habitat, mountains to coast and farmland to lochs.

I really enjoyed listening to the sound recordings which are excellent, mostly his own, but with others from well known recordists like Simon Elliott and Derek McGinn-several have won individual awards. I like the way he groups the birds, and some appear twice like the Golden Plover, with a mass of them in winter and then their plaintiff call on the moorland later on. I felt I was in the woods and the Blackcap calls took me right back to our dawn chorus in the Braham Estate earlier in May. It was also especially nice to know the places where the recordings were made. You can picture the sea cliffs of Handa, or the open farmland of Colonsay, the Bass Rock with its Gannets and the station at Forsinard. The Corncrake was wonderful to hear as i have just come back from Tiree.

John has grouped the geese species together, so I listened a couple of times to try and remember the difference between the Greylag and Pink-footed Geese- you can rewind in order to compare bird calls. He admits there is an overlap between some habitats like garden and woodland, but that is no problem. I also liked the few animals he has added like the Roe Deer whose bark could just as well be another bird! The background sound of sea, water and other birds is effective too.

My only criticism of the set is that it does not state on the front cover that there is a commentaryw3hich introduces the birds and says where many were recorded. Some people may think it is just another CD of bird sounds where you have to have the box with you to know what bird is calling. I feel this CD will be saleable to people who are interested in ornithology' but not necessarily to a real enthusiast. This set will certainly help many to identify the local birds by sound and because it is site specific, most people buying it will have seen the birds around. I certainly will be considering buying this CD set, as I find it difficult at times to know my bird calls and this will definitely help. Its title "Bird Songs of the Scottish highlands and Islands" also helps me choose from the many CDs out there in the shops.