UNDISCOVERED OWLS: A Sound Approach
Guide
This is the latest in a series of
lavishly-produced books pioneering identification strategies based primarily on
sound recordings. Once again, it is a very impressive piece of work - extremely
pleasing on the eye, thought invoking text and crammed full of essential
information. This publication concentrates on all of the Western Palearctic's 27
owl 'species' and allows for a comprehensive study of each and every
one.
The Sound Approach team is made up of a
small band of elite and highly experienced ornithologists, namely Arnoud van den
Berg, Mark Constantine, Magnus Robb, Dick Forsman, Killian Mullarney and Rene
Pop, and has been actively pursuing such projects since the early 1990's. Magnus
is the main man when it comes to recordings and the understanding and production
of sonograms, while the others all have their own individual niches to fill -
all in all a formidable team. Add to that the professional design expertise of
Cecilia Bosman and Mientje Petrus and then you have one production team bar none
and this book is working proof of such marvel - it is an undoubted
masterpiece.
In just under 300 pages, it's 9 chapters
work their way through all of the Western Palearctic Owls and to get the optimum
from the text, the book really needs to be read in conjunction with the four
CD's that accompany the tome. It is a book from my own heart, adopting the
rather liberal approach of taxonomy and running with 27 rather than 19 species,
based around both physical & morphological differences as well as
vocalisation differences. The book has numerous surprises up its sleeve,
splitting Barn Owl into 4 (Common, Slender-billed, Madeiran & Cape Verde),
Scops Owl into 4 (Eurasian, Cyprus, Pallid & Arabian), Eagle Owl into 3 and
recognising Maghreb Tawny Owl as distinct, as it clearly is by those that have
seen and heard the species in Morocco.
Each chapter is highly detailed, often
running to 15 pages per species, and incorporates lavish photography, lots of
sonograms and useful histories. The text is very readable but with an obvious
bias on sound recordings - great detail going in to describe how and when each
segment was obtained. A map highlighting the approximate distribution of each
species is also included. The majority of the images used to illustrate each
species are sumptuous whilst Hakan Delin's evocative artwork is patch-quilted
around the text and histograms, complimenting the presentation. Many of the
names used to describe each species are straightforward but 'Cucumiau' for
Desert Little Owl was somewhat unexpected and Great Grey becomes Lapland Owl in
justification for separating it from the Nearctic counterpart 'species'. I must
admit to being rivetted to the book at times, the chapters on Hume's and Omani
Owls being particularly illuminating - the latter remaining undiscovered before
work commenced on this project.
All in all an absolutely essential purchase
and a book to be extremely proud of.
