Birding by EarHow to Identify Birds Without Using Your Eyes

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When you rely solely on your eyes while birding, you pass over tiny kinglets and creepers and re-clusive wrens and towhees. With your ears “turned on,” you can hear so many more birds chip-ping, buzzing, trilling, and singing. Most birds, especially in a woodland setting, are heard before they’re seen. If you’re not engaging your auditory sense, you may be missing more than half the birds around you!

You don’t need to be an avid birder to notice that birds make a wide variety of sounds. Some of these sounds are gentle and pleasant, like the beautiful phrasing of a newly arrived wood thrush in spring. Other sounds can be jarring and annoying—at least to a nonbirder—such as a north-ern mockingbird’s mechanical imitations on a summer night.

But why do they do it? Birds are not singing and squawking for our enjoyment (or annoyance). Songbirds vocalize to communicate. Their sounds can be divided into two main categories: songs and calls.

A bird’s song is the more musical, complicated sound. In most species only the male sings, and he’s singing for two primary reasons: to attract a female and to warn other males to keep off his turf. Birdsong is related directly to courtship, breeding, and territoriality; this is why we hear birds singing in spring and summer, and not so much in fall and winter. Some species will sing from a hidden place in a thicket, but most male birds seek a prominent perch from which to proclaim their songs. Some males sing around the clock during breeding season. It’s those spring hormones that are mostly to blame for your neighborhood mockingbird’s nocturnal concerts.

A bird’s call is usually a short chip, whistle, trill, twitter, or chirp. This is how birds communi-cate in an everyday sense. Males and females, adults and immature birds call throughout the year. Birds use calls to keep contact among the members of a flock or family group, to warn off pred-ators, to signal food, and in a variety of other ways.

Compared with songs, bird calls can be somewhat harder to learn, as calls are less musical, shorter, and generally less memorable than songs. But mastering bird calls is possible, and, with practice, can greatly enhance your ability to find and identify birds.

Some bird species rely on non-vocal sounds to communicate their courtship and territorial messages. Examples of non-vocal bird sounds include woodcocks and mourning doves with whis-tling wings, and woodpeckers drumming on hollow trees.

To recap:

Songs attract mates or defend territoryCalls may be chip notes, or scolding, or chatter, or mobbingNon-vocal sounds include the wing whirs of mourning doves or hummingbirds, or the booming of grouse on leks

Learning to listen to birds takes patience and practice. It may seem an impossible task, but it’s not as difficult as you might think. In fact, you likely already know several bird vocalizations: American robin, mourning dove, northern cardinal, American crow, mallard, Canada goose, kill-deer, and wild turkey, just to name a few. The key to mastering birdsong identification is to start with the birds you already know—the species most commonly heard in your backyard or neigh-borhood—and then slowly add new songs and calls to your vocabulary.

There is a lot more to bird watching than just watching.

CDs, apps, or websites with recordings of birds are helpful and useful, but these do not sub-stitute for the real birds outside your window. Make a point of watching a bird as it sings—the audio-visual connection will stick in your mind. Some people use mnemonics to help them re-member specific songs. The eastern towhee’s “Drink your TEA!” or the barred owl’s “Who cooks for you all?” are common examples.

Over time, with practice, you will recognize bird vocalizations nearly subconsciously, as you would recognize a familiar singer’s voice on the radio or a family member’s laugh in the other room. Soon you will step outside and know those sweet, musical phrases as robins singing, those squealing keeyah keeyahs as courting red-shouldered hawks, those potato-chip twitters as gold-finches passing overheard, and that bright, clear whistle as a newly arrived Baltimore oriole.

As many a birder can attest, a whole new world opens up when we become aware of the in-credible diversity of birdlife that shares our space. We hope this guide will get you well on your way to identifying birds solely by sound.

Remember: A vocalizing bird is telling you what it is as well as where it is.Always listen for bird sounds, even if you can’t identify every chip note or other sound. Think about how to describe what you hear.

Prothonotary warblerzweet zweet zweet

How to learn: Practice makes perfect!Practice in the field: Make audio-visual connections and, if possible, take an expert with youPractice at home: Watch videos and listen to recordingsPractice committing songs to memory: Do whatever helps you remember; take notes of what you hearPractice learning mnemonics: Sometimes there are words to describe bird sounds, like cheep, tweet, twitter, hiss, and squawkPractice by focusing on a familiar species: Pick one you are likely to hear a lot, then study it until you know every nuance

Black-throated green warblerzee zee zee zee zo zee

Trilling: chipping sparrow Buzzy: scarlet tanager or blue-winged warbler

Flutelike: wood thrush

Whistled: northern bobwhite

Monotonous: prothonotary warbler

Sing-song: American robin

Ascending: prairie warbler

Descending: yellow-throated warbler

Crescendo (gets louder): ovenbird

Two-toned or three toned: black-capped chickadee,

Two distinct parts: Nashville warbler (Tennesee warbler has three parts)

Staccato: hairy woodpecker

Operatic: rose-breasted grosbeak or Baltimore oriole

Insect-like: grasshopper sparrow

Repeated: brown thrasher

Fast: house wren

Slow: yellow-throated vireo

Complex: bobolink

Simple: tufted titmouse

Emphatic: Acadian flycatcher

High-pitched: Blackburnian warbler

Low-pitched: common raven

Descriptive Examples

Let’s make a vocabularyRhythm: Pattern, tempo, trillPitch: High, low, mid-range, ascending then descendingTone: Squawk, whistle, musical, scratchy, rough, flutelike Parts: Three-part song, repeated song, or something else?Complexity: Is it super-simple or really complex?Speed: Rapid, slow, partly trilled, simple trending to complex, slow then fast

Acadian Flycatcherpeet-seet or peet-suh or peet

American Goldfinchpa-chip-chip-chip per-chick-a-reepo-ta-to-chip (and dip when in flight)

American Redstarttzee-tzee-tzee-tzeeeo

American Robincheer-up; cheer-a-lee; cheer-ee-o, whinny

Baltimore Orioleflute-like; disjointed series of notes here; here; come right here; dear

Barred Owlwho-cooks-for-you; who-cooks-for-you-all

Black-throated Blue WarblerI am so lazzzyPlease please please squeeze

Black & White Warblerwee-zee; wee-zee; wee-zee (like a squeaky wheel)

Blue Jayfee-der-de-lurpjay-jay-jayqueedle-queedle-queedle

Blue-gray Gnatcatcherzpeee (a bit raspy)

Blue-winged Warblerbeee-bzzz; blue winged! (second syllable buzzy)

Brown Thrashervaried mocker-like phrases (repeated 2x)drop-it; drop-it; cover-it-up; cover-it-up; pull-it-up; pull-it-up

Brown-headed Cowbirdbubble-bubble-zeeee!

Carolina Wrenbrrrrrrr (a brief; downslurred; rapid trill like thumbing comb tines)chooble-dee (varied triplet phrases)tea-kettle; tea-kettle; tea-kettle

Cedar Waxwingzeee-zeee-zeee (rapid, high-pitched trill, always in flocks)

Popular Mnemonics

American robincheer-up cheer-a-lee cheer-ee-o

Cerulean Warblerchyoo-chyoo-chyoo-tseee (last syllable burry)trill (ending with buzzy) beeee

Chipping Sparrowchipping trill (mechanical)

Common Yellowthroatwitchety-witchety-witchety (slow) tchep (flat and raspy)

Downy Woodpeckerpeeek (sharply) whinny

Eastern Phoebefee-beee (last syllable raspy)

Eastern Towheetoo-wheee! drink-your-teeeee!hot dog; pickle-ickle-icklecherwink

Eastern Wood Peweepee-a-weee and pee-yer

Field Sparrowa ping-pong ball dropped onto a tableincreasing in rate

Hairy Woodpeckerpik (flat) whinny

Hooded Warblerweeta-weeta-weet-tee-o

Indigo Buntingvaried phrases (in couplets)fire; fire; where? where? here; here; see it? see it?

Kentucky Warblerp’chee; p’chee; p’chee

Louisiana Waterthrushchiptree; tree; tree terwitter-witter wit

Northern Cardinalcheer-cheer-cheer-purty-purty-purty

Northern Flickerkleeeyerwik-wik-wiksqueechu-squeechu-squeechuflicker flicker flicker!

Northern Mockingbirdvaried phrases (repeated thrice or more)

Northern Parula Warblertrill! (fast rising; ending with)-tsyoozeeeeeeeeeeeeeee(buzzy)-chyoo

Black-throated blue warblerI am so lazzzy

Ovenbirdp’cheer - p’cheer - p’cheerteacher teacher teacher!

Prairie Warblerzee-zee-zee-zee (steady rise in pitch)

Prothonotary Warblerzweet; zweet; zweet (single pitch)

Red-bellied Woodpeckerchurrr; churrr (throaty; deeply trilled)

Red-eyed Vireowhere are you? and here I am

Red-headed Woodpeckersqueer; squeer (raspy)

Red-shouldered Hawkkee-yer; kee-yer; kee-yer

Red-tailed Hawkkeeeeeeeeer

Red-winged Blackbirdchortle-deeeeee conk-a-reeeeeeeeetseer; tseer

Scarlet Tanagercheer-up; cheer-a-lee; cheer-ee-o (burry; raspy)chick-burrr (last syllable rapidly trilled)hurry; worry; blurry; flurry (burry)

Song SparrowMaids-maids-maids-put-on-your-tea-kettle-ettle-ettleHip; hip; hip hurrah boys; spring is here!Madge; Madge; Madge pick beetles off; the water’s hot

Starlingwolf-whistle (breathy)

Summer Tanagercheer-up; cheer-a-lee (bouncy, musical)piky-tucky-tuck or pik-a-tuck

Red-winged blackbirdconk-a-reeeeeeeee

(A female red-winged blackbird appears on this e-book’s cover.)

Tufted Titmousecheeva; cheeva; cheeva fer-da; fer-da; fer-da here; here; here peter-peter-peter

Warbling VireoIf I sees you I will seize you and I’ll squeeze you till you squirt (to a caterpillar)brigadier; brigadier; briga-tee

White-breasted Nuthatchanh-anh-anh-anh (nasally)tooy-tooy-tooy-tooywee-wee-wee-wee-who-who-who-who

White-eyed Vireochick; per-wee-tee-o; chick or chick-per-wee-oQuick give me a rain checkChick Corea Chick

Wood Thrushchk-chk-chk (dry-subtle)ra-vi-o-li (flute-like)ee-oh-lay (flute-like, last note trilly)oo-duh-lay-oh or oodle-drrrr (last note trilly)fweet-fweet-fweet (rapid-fire)

Worm-eating Warblertrill (very rapid, even, mechanical)

Yellow Warblersweet; sweet; sweet; little-more-sweet

Yellow-billed Cuckoohoo-luh; hoo-luh; hoo-luh (1/sec; broken)ka-ka-ka kowp-kowp-kowp

Yellow-breasted Chatwhoit (whistled)wit; wit; wit or chak; chak; chak

Yellow-throated Vireothree-Ay; three-Ay

Yellow-throated Warblertsyoo-tsyoo-tsyoo-tsyoo -tswee

Song sparrowMaids-maids-maids-put-on-your-tea-kettle-ettle-ettle

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