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On the guide, and its emphasis on bird calls

The two-volume guide is as exhaustive as it is innovative, elevating sonograms of bird calls in homage to the unique significance of vocalizations.

 “We want people to understand how important it is to recognize different birds. Birds use calls to mark territory or attract mates. The calls help us classify birds by species. Birds of different species won’t recognize each other. They don’t speak the same language. Birds have been improperly classified due to not understanding the importance of vocalizations.”

Rasmussen’s work dispels the stereotype of the birdwatcher, armed with binoculars and a squint. She notes most people recognize birds first by call, and constructs the guide accordingly. In the guide, description of a bird’s vocalizations can be lengthy, and resemble a symphonic critique. Take the Rufous Woodpecker, whose “calls can include a very loud, penetrating, strident, nasal KEENk-KEENk-KEENk, each note of similar pitch and length” as well as “a loud, nasal harsh irregular yaffling of falling tu-wic, tu-wic, tu-wicca notes.”

Rasmussen crafted conventions to describe calls, as well as sonograms for those more visually oriented.