The Bluethroat is a delightful bird which quickly endears itself to anyone fortunate enough to observe it. Although the playing time of a CD is not enough to demonstrate the full repertoire of a singing Bluethroat, the listener should gain a clear impression of this virtuoso's song from the recordings presented here: The longer you listen, the more you become aware of the seemingly endless variety of the song with it's numerous and deceptively accurate imitations of other birds' voices and even mimicry of frogs, crickets, peals of bells, and other sounds from the breeding grounds and winter quarters. Little wonder that the Sami people of Lappland call the Bluethroat "the bird of a thousand voices". These recordings of the Bluethroat's song were made with the Sony Digital System PCM 2000 (DAT-Recorder); the Red-spotted Bluethroat with a Neumann RSM 190 stereo-microphone with windshield, and the White-spotted Bluethroat with 2 Sennheiser MKH 30 microphones using the "Bl�mlein" technique; here too, a shield had to be used because of the strong wind.

One of the most spectacular water bird sanctuaries of the world - the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary which was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1985 - can be found in between Jaipur and Agra, less than 200 km south of India's capital New Delhi. Consisting of lakes, marshes, thickets, scrub, and dry savannah, the Sanctuary provides a singular opportunity to observe a huge variety of birdlife. The number of birds to be found in winter - the season when the recordings on this CD were made - is, in fact, so large that it is almost impossible to single out any particular species. What presents itself to the visitor of the Sanctuary is a big chorus of many, many different voices, with some of them coming to the centre of the stage in especially dramatic moments. The CD "Opera of birds" is a guided soundwalk through the Sanctuary which provides you with an overview of the most prominent species of birds to be found in Bharatpur in the winter season - and may also be used for a relaxing listening experience.