Bird Sounds of Madagascar
05 December 2007
Rare recordings released by the British Library, 5 December 2007
On 5 December 2007, the British Library releases Bird Sounds of Madagascar, the latest addition to its popular series of wildlife compilations. This captivating collection celebrates the unique bird life of the island of Madagascar, bringing together rare and previously unpublished recordings of 127 different species of the island's extraordinary winged inhabitants.
Wildlife enthusiasts will be enthralled by the soundscape of exotic and unusual bird sounds - the drumming of a Madagascar Snip, the screeching alarm of the Red-capped Coua, the rattle and whistle duet of the White-throated Oxylabes , the bill-clacking of a Hook-billed Vanga, the croaking of the Madagascar Nightjar , the 'cat' call and chorus of the Madagascar Bulbul, the barking of a White-browed Owl, the 'frog' calls of a Rufous Vanga, the chatter of the Long-billed Tetraka and the bubbling of Pollen's Vanga - all these distinctive sounds and more combine to present a compelling vision of the African island's exceptional bird fauna.
Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, famed for its wildlife, with many species of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. A birdwatcher's paradise, Madagascar is home to an astonishing five endemic families of birds, including the mesites and cuckoo-roller, ancient relicts of groups that have now diversified around the rest of the world.
This essential audio guide contains recordings carefully selected from the extensive wildlife collections in the British Library Sound Archive, many of them previously unpublished. Among the rare sounds on the CD is the call of the Red-shouldered Vanga, recorded in 1997 at the moment of the first reported observation of this species in the wild. The CD also includes recordings of endemic subspecies which have distinctive calls, such as the Common Moorhen and Namaqua Dove, as well as non-endemic species with potentially confusing calls, such as the Greater Painted-snipe and the Harlequin Quail.
The CD is accompanied by a 24 page leaflet which fully describes each recording. The collection was compiled by Richard Ranft, Head of the British Library Sound Archive, with the help of Frank Hawkins of Conservation International, who spent 15 years studying the unique bird life of Madagascar.
Richard Ranft commented:
"This new collection of bird sounds from the island of Madagascar contains rare and fascinating recordings selected from the extensive wildlife collections of the British Library Sound Archive, many of them previously unpublished. Other titles in the British Library's wildlife CD series have been tremendously popular and I hope that wildlife enthusiasts will find this new compilation equally intriguing."
A Bird Sounds of Madagascar podcast, featuring an interview with Frank Hawkins can be heard online at : http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/whatson/downloads/index.html
For further information, contact Ruth Howlett at the British Library Press Office: +44 (0)20 7412 7112 or ruth.howlett@bl.uk
Notes for Editors
Bird Sounds of Madagascar is published on 5 December 2007. £9.95 ISBN 978 07123 0534 1. Duration 77 minutes. The CD is accompanied by a 24 page explanatory booklet fully describing each recording. The CD is available from the British Library Shop (tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7735 / e-mail: bl-bookshop@bl.uk) and online at www.bl.uk/shop as well as other bookshops throughout the UK.
The British Library is the national Library of the United Kingdom. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. Further information is available on the Library's website at www.bl.uk.
The British Library Sound Archive is one of the largest sound archives in the world. It holds over a million discs, 200,000 tapes, and many other sound and video recordings. The collections come from all over the world and cover the entire range of recorded sound from music, drama and literature, to oral history and wildlife sounds. Collection material comes in every conceivable format, from wax cylinder and wire recordings to CD and DVD, and from a wide variety of private, commercial and broadcast sources. The British Library Sound Archive also operates a wide-ranging recording programme of its own.