".. Bird Sounds of Bolivia is a masterpiece of
diligent, exacting work covering 538 of Bolivia's presently known
1,365 species ... Each track is labeled precisely, containing all
of the information one needs to make quality scientific
comparisons (e.g. location, elevation, time, date, and sound
duration). Most of the recordings are for a very decent period of
time (20 to 40 seconds), .... Unlike many other Neotropical bird-sound
products, Mayer almost always manages to give the listener at
least two types of sound variations. Species accounts are
thoughtfully made; species that have more regional or individual
variation are displayed with more examples of sites and sound
recordings. The song data base is well distributed, with an
example of almost all of the genera found in Bolivia. ...
One feature that I believe deserves special acknowledgement is
the thorough identification of the background sounds on all of
Mayer's tracks. ...
... It is ignorant and egotistical that products about Latin
American wildlife are made only for people outside these
countries. The extra effort Mayer placed in writing both the
English and the Spanish text should be standard practice for all
works of this type.
My biggest criticism is that I want more. I want everything that
is on Bird Sounds of Bolivia and then more calls and songs
showing more and more variation. But this is a typical complaint
in South America, where many species with quite a large vocal
repertoire are demonstrated by just a single type of sound.
As a research tool, Bird Sounds of Bolivia represents a
technological and ideological revolution that will set a
precedent for all future bird-sound (especially Neotropical)
products. If one were to own only a single reference work of bird
sounds for the Neotropics, I would recommend Bird Sounds of
Bolivia above anything else available." -- A.
Bennett Hennessey in The Auk 115(3):819-820, 1998.
"... la utilidad del CD no se reduce a la apreciación de las voces y la ayuda que representan éstas para la identificación a campo. Merece destacarse el valor científico de la obra por la abundante documentación que acompaña a cada registro, incluyendo datos del colector, hora y fecha, localidad, habitat y detalles acerca de las voces de otras especies en la toma sonora. La presentación del material se efectúa a través de una interface gráfica amigable, a la que solamente faltaría una foto o dibujo del ave. No me cabe duda que este CD establece un nuevo standard de excelencia para los interesados en los problemas de la bioacústica de aves de la región neotropical. ..." -- Pablo Tubaro in Hornero
Last updated on 17 April 2000.