A key decision is which song collections you want on your birdJam iPod. Current collections include  more than 1,000 bird species and dozens of frogs/toads. The Stokes North American Bird Song collections—East and/or West—are the "Basic" birdJam collections that are most often used, while the other collections are "Add-On" modules for speciality species or locations.
birdJam Basic Collections:
birdJam Add-On Modules:
- birdJam for Eastern Warblers, 49 species (sounds and photographs)
- birdJam for North American Owls module for Cornell's Voices of North American Owls, 22 species (sounds and photographs)
- birdJam Southwest module for Cornell's Bird Songs of Southeastern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, 221 species (sounds and photographs for North American birds only)
- birdJam Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico module for Bird Songs of Mexico, Yucatan Peninsula, Volume 1, 92 species (sounds only)
- birdJam Costa Rica, Caribbean Slope module, for Cornell's Voices of Costa Rican Birds, 202 species (sounds only)
- birdJam Frogs and Toads module for Lang Elliott's book and CD The Calls of Frogs and Toads, 42 Eastern North American species (sounds and photographs)
The Stokes CDs were recorded primarily by Lang Elliott and Kevin Colver, and are considered by many to be the preeminent North American collections. (We agree!) Most species have a variety of different songs and sounds, and most are at least 30 seconds in length, many are longer. The quality and depth are obvious when you compare them to other collections.
The photographs were made by Robert Royse, Brian Small, Suzanne Collins and others. They were selected to provide the most definitive identification information possible. We think you'll agree that they are both helpful and beautiful.
How many songs?
So, did you pull out your calculator to add up the number of species from the list above? They add up to much more than 1,000 species.
In reality, the Stokes Eastern and Western collections have 662 species, but there are 923 species indicated above. That's because there are 261 "duplicate" species—the same species but recorded in the East or West, often with distinctive differences in songs and sounds.
Both the Eastern Warbler and North America Owl collections have species that also can be found in the Stokes Eastern or Western collections. But, these supplemental collections include multiple different calls, chips, songs and sounds to augment the Stokes collections.
The frogs and toads are a "hoot" (well, a ribbit!), and we believe you'll find them especially helpful next time you're trying to identify those intriguing peeps up the pond.
Stay tuned!
We regularly add new collections based on the input of current birdJammers. We'll announce new collections in our periodic online birdJam newsletter (click here to read past editions), and you can also look for birdJam software in the birdJam store. |
