Indicator Bird Species of the Costa Rican Cloud Forest
by David L. Ross, Kerry N. Rabenold, Theodore R. Simons

An audio guide to 52 cloud forest species with an emphasis on those that are sensitive to disturbance and representative of faunal integrity within this habitat. Primarily designed as a monitoring tool for the biologist, this compilation represents the most comprehensive coverage of song and call types for the species it covers. Species names are announced in both English and Spanish, and the bird songs are indexed separately from the announcements. This is a collaboration between the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the New York Zoological Society.

--that's the official blurb; these are author comments from David L. Ross:
This collaborative project was originally designed as a non-commercial (not for sale) training tool. It still bears some of the characteristics of that origin, especially in terms of the limited ways in obtaining it (see below for how to find it). The mere 52 species included here are some very good cloud forest birds, some with ranges in cloud forest well beyond the Monteverde Preserve, which it best targets. This CD further diverges from many others in that it includes multiple vocalizations for the majority of the species, including calls, songs, flight songs, etc. There are voice announcements by a Costa Rican woman for a little more authenticity. These announcements have been given indexes independent of the vocalizations--that is to say that when you select Track # 94 on your CD player, you'll here the announcement for Yellow-thighed Finch in Spanish and English, and at Track #95 you'll hear the song, greeting calls, and calls for Yellow-thighed Finch. This allows the user/ biologist to play the vocalizations without the announcements. The smaller selection of "good cloud forest species" has permitted a more detailed guide to these cloud forest sounds. Have a question about these recordings, try me via Instant Messenger @ Tinkfrog1 or email me via the contact information page.

CD $15.00, Cassette $10.00. through the MVCL
To obtain this production, contact the Monteverde Conservation League, Apdo. Post. 10581-1000, San José, Costa Rica. e-mail acmmcl@racsa.co.cr, or phone (506) 645-5003 or 645-5200, FAX (506) 645-5104.

 

or purchase online at
Natural History Book Service
http://www.nhbs.co.uk/index.html e-mail: orders@nhbs.co.uk
explore their site for pricing and online ordering information
(do a search on their site for "indicator birds")