Birdwatching with your Eyes Closed

Learning birdsong is not just a way to become a better bird-spotter. It is tuning in: a way of hearing the soundtrack of Planet Earth...

Why do birds sing? What are they trying to say? Birdsong is not just about natural history. It is also about our history. We got melody from birds as we got rhythm from the womb. This vital book with a free podcast takes you from winter into deepest spring, teaching you how to recognise song after song as the chorus swells. You start with robin, and end up listening to nightingales.

Along the way, you will learn the science of birdsong the difference between song and call, the physiology of songbirds, what birdsong tells us about evolution, and indeed the very beginnings of life itself. The aim is to give you a flying start in birdsong so that, after reading this book, you'll be listening to order, not chaos, to Bach, not white noise. You will be more aware of the wild world, and better able to understand it.