Juvenile calls II : flycatchers to titmice

When young birds leave the nest, they are fed by one or both parents for a certain period, and give "begging" calls at this time, some of which are amongst the most commonly heard calls in the summer months. The calls are species-specific and may change as the nestlings/fledglings age. Some sounds appear to function as location calls, and others as calls that say "feed me". Often the calls increase in rate as a parent approaches with food, or there may be a switch to a different call at the point of feeding. Fledglings of at least some species, such as American Robins, appear to have a fairly extensive vocabulary, and I've observed families of young Gray Catbirds making different vocalizations, perhaps to identify themselves individually to the parents ( see Gray Catbird fledgling calls).


The location call of fledgling Eastern Kingbirds is identical to a call used as an alarm by the adults. When being fed, they switch to a soft screeching call. In this recording, one young bird is giving the location call while another is giving the begging call as it gets fed by an adult (July, PA).

location and begging calls









A family of Great Crested Flycatchers, with the young birds using the wheep call (July, PA).










Young Great Crested Flycatchers can make a tremendous din. Here are several calling from high in trees (July, PA). They already have the full array of adult calls as they are not learnt.

wheep









purrit and rasp calls









whit









Quieter calls by a fledgling Great Crested Flycatcher, with begging calls at 35-45s (July, PA).










some of the calls are not typical adult calls








begging calls at point of being fed








Eastern Phoebe fledgling. There are three calls, a descending call, a doubled or tripled call, and fainter, hoarser calls following feeding by the adult (May, PA).




Four fledglings (May, PA).



Eastern Wood-Pewee juvenile calling and being fed at 10 to 17 seconds. There are three call types, a short, high pwe, a hoarse call which increases in rate and intensity at the point of feeding, and intermediate calls. Young pewees are very vocal and commonly heard in July and August (Aug, NJ).


pwe call








intermediate and wheezy call










wheezy calls at point of being fed








Another call by a lone fledgling Eastern Wood-Pewee, a hoarse pewee (July, PA).












Calls by three newly fledged Acadian Flycatchers which were perched together up in a tree (Aug, PA).











Calls made as an adult brought food:











Another juvenile Acadian Flycatcher (July, PA).










Fledgling Willow Flycatchers give similar calls, some are raspy, left on sonagram (July, PA).





Juvenile Alder Flycatcher calls. These were very quiet calls given by hidden birds, and the id is presumptive (July, ME).




Warbling Vireo fledgling calls. They are similar to the adult alarm calls but shorter (July, PA).










Red-eyed Vireo fledglings have a very high buzzy call (Aug, PA).

Calls by several older juveniles (July, ME).




American Crow fledglings have more nasal calls than adults, recalling Fish Crow, but the calls are not doubled. Gulping sounds at 7 and 35s when being fed (July, ME).









Fish Crow juveniles (June, PA).

Common Raven fledglings (lower calls by adult, July, ME).



Juvenile Blue Jay calls at point of feeding (June, PA).










Juvenile contact calls and then calls at time of feeding, adult contact calls at end (June, PA).

juvenile contact call









adult contact call









Jay call by a fledgling Blue Jay (with adult, June, PA).











These older juvenile Blue Jays sound a little like hoarse adults (Jul, ME).










The fledglings of the following three species of swallow have calls that sound like those of adults.

Tree Swallow fledglings perched high in a spruce (June, PA).










Northern Rough-winged Swallow fledglings perched in a small dead tree (June, PA).











Fledgling Barn Swallows perched, calls speed up at time of food transfer (June, PA)

Juveniles in flight (June, PA).











Tufted Titmouse juveniles have three calls, one a descending call (probably a location call, that recalls the flight and juvenile call of the Field Sparrow), an intermediate call, and squeaky begging calls that are similar to those of chickadees (June, PA).


































Another fledgling Tufted Titmouse (July, PA).












Juvenile Black-capped Chickadees (July, ME).











Juvenile Carolina Chickadees (June, PA)

(July, PA).











Compare with the begging calls of an adult female requesting food from a male (early May, NJ).










Brown Creeper fledglings have clear, long, descending calls (July, ME).











White-breasted Nuthatch juvenile begging call (with House Wren, June, PA).



More commonly, the young birds make calls similar to the adults (July, PA).

Juvenile calls IV : warblers

Juvenile Yellow Warblers give rapid high chip calls (July, PA).


Here the chips in the first 6 seconds of the cut are adult chips, followed by two flight calls and then by the calls of fledglings (Dark-eyed Junco singing, July, ME).









Prairie Warbler is similar but a little harder (June, PA).




A juvenile Pine Warbler in the New Jersey pine barrens; the calls have a prominent trill component (Jun).










Calls increase in rapidity to the point of being fed at 7 seconds (Aug, NJ).











Yellow-rumped Warbler juveniles sound similar but the call is lower and more staccato (July, ME).





Black-throated Blue Warbler fledgling calls are higher, and if this recording is typical, more rapid; note trills at the time of feeding (July, ME).










Juvenile Black-throated Green Warbler begging calls are metallic (July, ME).

(Sep, ME).










These birds called in triplets, the third call being similar to Black-and-white Warbler, the next species (July, ME).



Juvenile Black-and-white Warblers are similar but have a harder typewriter-like call (Worm-eating Warbler chipping, June, NJ).

(these birds were not visualized, July, ME)





Fledgling Worm-eating Warblers are similar to Black-and-white but are higher (June, NJ).






















The calls of fledgling American Redstarts are soft and high; juvenile begging and being fed by adult female (June, NJ).











Canada Warbler fledgling chips are similar (lower chips by adult in background, July, ME).











Juvenile Ovenbirds have an extremely high-pitched soft call, often a twittering (June, NJ).













A different looking call by a newly fledged Ovenbird running along the ground, but still very high pitched (June, PA).



Fledgling Blackburnian Warblers have a rapid, high, buzzy call (July, ME).










Black-throated Green and Blackburnian Warbler fledglings together for comparison (July, ME).


Magnolia Warbler is similar to Blackburnian; these fledglings called mostly in triplets, the last note being lower. The calls are almost identical to those of fledgling Northern Cardinals (July, ME).











Juvenile Chestnut-sided Warblers utter a soft chip that is used as a location call, and have a slurred begging call when a parent approaches (July, ME).











begging calls








(July, ME).


The softer chips are fledgling calls, the sharper, emphatic chips are by the adult male (July, ME).

both chips, adult on right







Adult-like calls by fledglings that were likely older (July, ME).





Juvenile Northern Parulas have extremely high-pitched chips (July, ME).









(July, ME)




Juvenile Common Yellowthroats have a location call similar to the chip of adults (July, PA).












Calls speed up into the begging call when being fed (July, PA).












As is commonplace with fledglings, they fell silent when an adult bird called the alarm (July, PA).



Louisiana Waterthrush fledglings have a short trill-like call (May, NJ).




















As is typical of fledgling calls, they speed up as the parent hands over food. The calls are similar to those of fledgling Chipping Sparrows.









A different, rising call.












The Blue-winged Warbler juvenile call is a high, fine buzz (not visualized, July, NJ).






Swainson's Warbler fledgling (early June, NC)