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Bird Sound Types and Qualities Part I

Can you tell the difference?
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Olive-sided Flycatcher
© Joanne Kamo

Since it’s often hard to see a bird, veteran birders characterize the sounds of birds in order to identify them. So what words do they use? Well, they use “whistle,” for example, to describe the sound of this Olive-sided Flycatcher. And "rattle" for that of the Belted Kingfisher. There's the trill of a Dark-eyed Junco. And the House Wren's “cascade!" The song of a Downy Woodpecker is a sort of “whinny." Listen again and see if you can recognize the types of sounds.

The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds supplies many of the sounds for BirdNote, and we are grateful!

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BirdNote®

Bird Sound Types and Qualities - I

Written by Chris Peterson

This is BirdNote!
[Song of the Olive-sided Flycatcher]
    Since it’s often hard to see a bird, veteran birders characterize the sounds of birds in order to identify them. So what words do they use?
Well, they use “whistle," for example, to describe the sound of the Olive-sided Flycatcher. [Song of the Olive-sided Flycatcher]
What about the sound of this stout little flyer, the Belted Kingfisher? Would you call this a “rattle” or a “trill?" [Call of the Belted Kingfisher] Experienced birders would call it a “rattle." [Call of the Belted Kingfisher]
Now here’s a trill. [Trill of the Dark-eyed Junco] The Dark-eyed Junco delivers an almost perfect trill. Rapidly repeated notes -- at equal intervals -- same pitch -- same speed…[Trill of the Dark-eyed Junco]
    What about the song of a House Wren? Would you call this a “trill” or a “cascade?" [Song of the House Wren] A birder with a trained ear would say “cascade."
[Song of the House Wren]
    And is the song of a Downy Woodpecker a “cascade” or a “whinny?"
[Whinny call of the Downy Woodpecker] Experience names it a “whinny."
    Practice makes perfect, and you can hear them all again at birdnote.org.
That's b-i-r-d-n-o-t-e -- all one word.
    I’m Mary McCann. [Song of the Olive-sided Flycatcher]
                                                                            ###
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.  Song of the Olive-sided Flycatcher recorded by T.G. Sander; call of the Belted Kingfisher recorded by S.R. Pantel; song of the Dark-eyed Junco by G.A. Keller; call of the Downy Woodpecker by W.W.H. Gunn; and song of the House Wren by G.A. Keller.
BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer:  John Kessler
Executive Producer:  Chris Peterson
© 2014 Tune In to Nature.org     May 2017     Narrator: Mary McCann

073007soundtype1    sound-05b

Chris Peterson
Writer
Mary McCann
Narrator
Joanne Kamo
Photographer
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Tagsbirdwatching by ear sound

Related Resources

Learn How to Identify Birds by SongLearn more about the Macaulay LibraryCornell's All About Birds has more about songs & callsOlive-sided Flycatcher – More at All About BirdsMore resources for recognizing birds by song

More About These Birds

Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi)

Contopus cooperi

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)

Megaceryle alcyon

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

Junco hyemalis

House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)

Troglodytes aedon

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Picoides pubescens

Sights & Sounds

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Birds connect us with the joy and wonder of nature. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world – and take steps to protect it.

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