THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PUBLIC BIRDS Learning to Listen to the Birds Where We Live

This audiobook is a paean to birds. It's almost poetry, and author Jack Gedney's lyrical style is exactly suited to listening, perhaps even more so than reading. The text is peppered with images like this, referring to Golden-crowned Sparrows: "Their crowns shine in the fading afternoon light." Narrator Jonathan Todd Ross captures the author's style; Ross's smooth voice and easy pace make listening pleasurable, and his conversational tone renders the text easy to follow. The content is California-centric, so listeners shouldn't expect a field guide to American birds. But the author's observations are generalizable, so listeners can expect to learn a lot about our backyard visitors. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2024]