Listening to a Continent Sing

Birdsong by Bicycle from the Atlantic to the Pacific

Donald Kroodsma

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9780691180892
  9780691166810
• eBook ISBN:
  9781400880324
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Natural History
• Index: Biological Sciences

A birdsong expert's poignant and beautifully illustrated memoir of a bicycle journey across America with his son

Join birdsong expert Donald Kroodsma on a ten-week, ten-state bicycle journey as he travels with his son from the Atlantic to the Pacific, lingering and listening to our continent sing as no one has before. On remote country roads, over terrain vast and spectacular, from dawn to dusk and sometimes through the night, you will gain a deep appreciation for the natural symphony of birdsong many of us take for granted. Come along and marvel at how expressive these creatures are as Kroodsma leads you west across nearly five thousand miles—at a leisurely pace that enables a deep listen.

Listening to a Continent Sing is also a guided tour through the history of a young nation and the geology of an ancient landscape, and an invitation to set aside the bustle of everyday life to follow one's dreams. It is a celebration of flowers and trees, rocks and rivers, mountains and prairies, clouds and sky, headwinds and calm, and of local voices and the people you will meet along the way. It is also the story of a father and son deepening their bond as they travel the slow road together from coast to coast.

Beautifully illustrated throughout with drawings of birds and scenes and featuring QR codes that link to audio birdsong, this poignant and insightful book takes you on a travel adventure unlike any other—accompanied on every leg of your journey by birdsong.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• How to Listen Using the QR Codes
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Prologue
• 1. Beginnings
• 2. Peace, and War
• 3. Lemonade
• 4. Blue Ridge Dawn
• 5. A Virginia High
• 6. Appalachia
• 7. Boone Country
• 8. A Ride in Heaven
• 9. Laid Up
• 10. On the Road Again
• 11. Dawn Sweeps the Shawnee
• 12. The Ozarks
• 13. A Prairie Gem
• 14. Kansas Oceans
• 15. Shortgrass Prairie
• 16. Western Birds
• 17. Riding the Rockies
• 18. Sage and Song
• 19. Hello, Wyoming
• 20. The Oregon Trail
• 21. Grand Tetons
• 22. Into the Fire
• 23. Caterpillars Marching
• 24. Chief Joseph Pass
• 25. Lewis and Clark
• 26. Pacific Islands Incoming
• 27. Ascending into Oregon
• 28. Geological Chaos
• 29. Over the Cascades
• 30. A Homecoming
• 31. Land’s End
• Epilogue—Where Are They Now?
• Notes
• References
• Index