birdJam Playlists
Playlists are a key element of what makes birdJam to easy and intuitive to use. Playlists are groupings of birds such as birds that remind us of door bells. Uh... well, you could create a playlist like that, but we didn't.
Actually, birdJam provides playlists that allow you to quickly find and play any bird song. And, yes, with iTunes on your computer, you can easily create additional playlists such as birds that sound like frogs—if you want to. You could also create such a playlist in the birdJam Studio (see below).
birdJam playlists are organized alphabetically, taxonomically, and then by habitat and family groups. Nearly 70% of birdJammers use the alphabetic playlists as the primary way that they access the bird songs.
Below is a listing of the standard birdJam playlists. If you have a birdJam with both East and West regions, the Eastern playlists comes first because "E" comes before "W." Likewise, the playlists categorized by the original order of the Stokes CDs (below) follow because "S" is later in the alphabet.
- bJam-All-alpha (combines East and West if you have both)
- bJam-E-All-alpha
- bJam-E-All-phylo (taxonomic)
- bJam-E-Crazy Birds (yes, a silly group that includes Puffins, etc.)
- bJam-E-Fields
- bJam-E-Forest
- bJam-E-Marsh
- bJam-E-Nocturnal (you'll find Eastern owls here)
- bJam-E-Paddlers
- bJam-E-Shorebirds
- bJam-E-Shrub-Brush
- bJam-E-Sparrows
- bJam-E-Urban
- bJam-E-Warblers
- bJam-E-Wetlands
- bJam-W-All-alpha
- bJam-W-All-phylo (taxonomic)
- bJam-W-Crazy Birds (yes, a silly group that includes Yellow-headed blackbirds, etc.)
- bJam-W-Fields
- bJam-W-Forest
- bJam-W-Marsh
- bJam-W-Nocturnal (you'll find Western owls here)
- bJam-W-Paddlers
- bJam-W-Shorebirds
- bJam-W-Shrub-Brush
- bJam-W-Sparrows
- bJam-W-Urban
- bJam-W-Warblers
Stokes playlists are organized exactly as the bird songs are organized on the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs, Eastern Region (Western Region are similar). About 20% of birdJammers use these as their primary playlists to access the bird songs..
- Stokes01-Introduction
- Stokes02-Seabirds
- Stokes03-Heronlike Birds
- Stokes04-Swans, Geese, Ducks
- Stokes05-Hawklike Birds
- Stokes06-Chickenlike Birds
- Stokes07-Marsh Birds
- Stokes08-Shorebirds
- Stokes09-Gull-like Birds
- Stokes10-Pigeonlike Birds
- Stokes11-Owls and Other Nocturnal Birds
- Stokes12-Swifts, Hummingbirds
- Stokes13-Woodpeckers
- Stokes14-Flycatchers
- Stokes15-Shrikes, Vireos
- Stokes16-Jays, Crows
- Stokes17-Larks, Swallows
- Stokes18-Chickadees, Nuthatches, Wrens
- Stokes19-Thrushes, Mimics
- Stokes20-Warblers
- Stokes21-Tanagers, Grosbeaks, Buntings
- Stokes22-Sparrows
- Stokes23-Blackbirds, Orioles
- Stokes24-Finches
If you add one of the new modules such as birdJam for SE Arizona/Sonora, Mexico, the playlists for that module are:
- bJam-Ariz-Mexico-All-alpha
- bJam-Ariz-Mexico-All phylo
- bJam-Ariz-Mexico- Nocturnal
- bJam-Ariz-Mexico-Sonoran Species
- bJam-Ariz-Mexico-Sparrows
- bJam-Ariz-Mexico-Warblers
We regularly debate as to whether there are too many or too few playlists. Our recent survey indicated that about 75% of birdJammers think there are about the right number, while 12% thought there were too few and 13% thought there were too many. We do our best to keep everyone happy, but there a bit of that ol' rock and a hard place here!
Downloadable Playlists. We've made it easy to download new playlists or to create new ones from the birdJam Studio. To do this, you need to be running the latest version of birdJam Maker.
Once you have installed the latest version of birdJam Maker, a new menu item appears in the File menu titled Download playlists. Select this menu item to download additional birdPod/birdJam Maker playlists, including:
- "Sound Alikes" Eastern birds for comparison of birds with similar songs
- Combined East/West alphabetical listing
- Georgia Ecosystems
- Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival
- Rio Grande Valley Birding and Nature Festival
- New River Birding and Nature Festival
- Georgia Coastal Birding Festival
- Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds
- Potholes and Prairie Birding Festival
After downloading the playlists that interest you, re-run the Install Playlists step in birdPod/birdJam Maker and then re-sync your iPod in order to load the new playlists to your iPod.
To download the latest version of of birdJam Maker, which supports downloadable playlists, go to the birdJam Maker Upgrade page.
Playlists are being added on a periodic basis, especially for use at various birding festivals around North America. There are also playlists for the Georgia Ecoregions (since we live in Georgia). We hope will be adding more playlists on an ongoing basis--please use birdPod/birdJam Maker to check for new playlists often!
Please contact us with ideas for playlists you would like to see, or use our new Playlist Creator to create your own playlists!
Copyright 2005, 2006, 2007 MightyJams, LLC. All rights reserved.
