The Art of Pishing: How to Attract Birds by Mimicking Their Calls (Book & Audio CD)

The Art of Pishing: How to Attract Birds by Mimicking Their Calls (Book & Audio CD) | Pete Dunne | Informative, intelligen and very humorous

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The Art of Pishing...

	The Art of Pishing: How to Attract Birds by Mimicking Their Calls (Book & Audio CD) Pete Dunne Stackpole Books, 2006 - 92 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

This title contains a book & CD. Learn the arcane yet effective art of pishing from a master. In this unique package, renowned birder Pete Dunne presents an illustrated workshop on how to attract birds by making precise and well-practised hisses, whistles, chips, and squeals (along with some kisses and thumps) that almost guarantee spectacular success in the field. The text explains the how's, why's, and when's of 13 different pishes, including the basic pish, stutter pish, whisper pish, knockdown pish, screech-owl warble, sequential chip, and squeal. The soundtrack features audio demonstrations so you can compare your efforts to an expert's. Together, this book and CD will send you well on your way to becoming a pisher extraordinaire. This first-ever how-to book on this time-proven technique features 13 pish explanations and audio demonstrations by Pete Dunne.

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The Art of Pishing

Pete Dunne teaches us how to Pish in this Book - I have seen many people pishing, but Pete refines the Art. It is funny, helpful, and historical. It is a useful tool and good reading. In addition, you get a CD you can listen too. It is a funny, pertinent, intelligent discussion of Pishing. Driving during one birding expedition, I played it for my birding group. The Group was thoroughly entertained and we got a lot of good laughs in the process; Pete Dunne is a good entertainer.

Informative, intelligen and very humorous

The Art of Pishing is an excellent source for learning how to attract birds by mimicking their alert/alarm calls. The humor in the book is a delightful surprise and kept me reading for the next one-liner. At the same time the author clearly explains how to "pish". If that's not enough the CD that comes with the book provides a complete series of lessons on how to make pishing noises. Excellent book!

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A birder treasure in New Jersey

Pete Dunne is Editor of "New Jersey Audubon Magazine" and one of the top birders in the country. He writes wonderful short pieces for many publications and is the author of several excellent books on birding.

Pishing is easy to learn: purse your lips and make hissing "p" sounds. Dunne includes a useful CD. I used a small digital recorder and compared my sounds with the sounds of a master birder. With an additional bit of help from Shakespeare described below, my own pishing became much more effective.

It's not clear why pishing works. Dunne believes it arouses the natural curiosity of birds. It works better when birds are migrating, and better with certain types of birds, especially smaller ones. Chickadees, warblers, sparrows, nuthatches, robins and thrushes are particularly attracted in our area.

He writes about the origin of pishing: "What natural sound does 'Psssh' imitate? ... [I]f I had to guess, and since I've backed myself into this etymological corner I guess I do, I'd say that 'pish' or 'psssh' most closely resembles the raspy, rising scold of the Tufted Titmouse...."

Dunne believes that since Tufted Titmice are very curious, attracted to people and love to mob (or collect in large groups), people would have noticed them. Also, they are forest birds, where birds are harder to see, so people would try tricks to attract birds. Finally, since the technique works better in the northeast that in other parts of the country, it probably began with birders in the northeast forests trying to attract the Tufted Titmouse flocks.

(I personally wonder if titmice use "pish" to convey contempt, impatience, or disgust. Shakespeare used the word that way in "Henry V":

Nymph: "Pish."

Pistoll: "Pish for thee, Island dogge: thou prickeard cur of Island."

One thing is for sure: since I've read Dunne's book and remember the Nymph and Pistoll, my pishing seems to attract more birds.)

In this, as in all his writings, Dunne is clear, funny and very helpful.

*****

PS: Dunne was nice enough to respond to my email of my review: "Loved your review and your thoughts. St. Francis is still the world's first pisher. I never thought of W. Shak. as an understudy."

Robert C. Ross 2008

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My bird-lover friend loved it

I bought this item with the Birds, Birds, Birds! An Indoor Birdwatching Field Trip DVD Video Bird and Bird Song Guide for an extreme bird-watching friend of mine who was recovering from surgery.

He reported that in all of his bird book collecting and years of bird study he found new information and great enjoyment from this item.

To Pish or not to Pish!

I found this book to be interesting, but to execute the sounds that Dunne does is to say the least very difficult. Still over all I liked the book.

reviews: page 1, 2

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