American Bird Songs, Vol. I and II. Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology

American Bird Songs, Vol. I and II.  Cornell University.  This was a great, recent find.  I already have American Bird Songs, Vol. II, but it was an empty feeling to have vol. 2, and not vol. one.  But then - voila - I found Vol. II.  There are really special records to me.  I love watching birds, and identifying them to add my my Life List.  But after the cardinal and chickadee and few others, using just the bird's call or song to ID the bird is difficult for non-experts like me.  These records are gems.  The format is - an announcer tells the listener the name of the bird and then we hear a recorded-in-the-field recording of that bird's song or call for a few repeats.  These records are not rare - a few on eBay at the moment.  They were produced by the world famous Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a member-supported unit of Cornell University.  According to their website, "The lab is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary.  Approximately 250 scientists, professors, staff, and students work in a variety of programs devoted to the Lab's mission: interpreting and conserving the Earth's biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. Work at the Lab is supported primarily by its 40,000 members.  The Cornell Lab issues two quarterly publications, Living Bird magazine and the BirdScope newsletter, and manages numerous citizen-science projects and websites, including the Webby Award-winning All About Birds.