The Blind Birdwatcher

Uruguayan birder Juan Pablo Culasso, who was born blind, has been recording and collecting bird songs for more than two decades.

I think that because I’m blind, I enjoy birds differently. Bird songs are my way of appreciating and understanding this world.

Culasso is aided in his quest by his incredible sense of of hearing:

Culasso is blind, but his hearing is so acute (he has absolute pitch) he can identify over 3,000 components of birdsong and differentiate among more than 700 species in his native South America (he’s Uruguayan). Ten years ago, he won a $45,000 prize in a National Geographic competition by accurately identifying 15 random bird calls.

You can find dozens and dozens of his recordings on Spotify. Filmmaker Johnny Holder made a 22-minute documentary film that features Culasso called Sonora; you can watch it on Vimeo. (via the kid should see this)

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