Mimid calls

Gray Catbird: the commonly heard mew alarm call (June, NJ).











A bisyllabic version of the mew (Aug, NJ)













The mew becomes shorter with increased agitation, as when fledglings are nearby (July, PA).












cuck calls, used by less agitated birds (June, NJ)












A similar call is a very low blackbird-like chuck. Here one bird is using this call while the other makes the cuck call (July, PA).

rising cuck on left, low chuck on right









The ratchet call is commonly heard, especially at dawn and by birds in flight (Sep, PA).











Repeated ratchet calls by a recently fledged bird (July, PA).


A squeaky call (June, NJ)












The twik call is commonly heard in summer and fall, often from birds hiding in vegetation, and can sound very similar to the Mourning Warbler chip.
(July, NJ)












(Sep, NJ)













(Sep, PA)


Distress call near nest in response to a Blue Jay (June, PA).











The contact or territorial calls of Northern Mockingbirds are heard especially at dawn and dusk in the fall. They are quite variable. (Oct, PA).













Two birds calling to one another (Jan, NJ).













Four birds interacting, with rapidly repeated calls (Oct, PA).













Northern Mockingbird alarm call (July, PA).












A series of calls, with mimicry, by an agitated bird (July, PA).

mimicry of Brown Thrasher pee-yor 1-6s









mimicry of Blue Jay 15-24s







call at 37-43s











Repeated over a long period of time, this call mimicked Red-eyed Vireo (Aug, PA).


A goldfinch-like call given in flight during a chase involving two birds (Oct, PA)













The smacking call of the Brown Thrasher (July, PA).












Descending pee-or (adult with food near nest, May, PA).

(Sep, NJ).

insect noise at 5kHz









Another thrasher call is a hoarse verr (several birds at dawn, Feb, DE, with Eastern Towhee).



Several calls together (Oct, PA)

Thrush songs

Thrushes have some of the loveliest songs among North American birds.

American Robin singing before dawn (July, ME)
The first two phrases are the typical "caroled" notes, and the next two are higher pitched "hisselly" phrases (see the sonagram). The typical American Robin sings 10-20 different carols and 75-100 different hissellys (Kroodsma). Hissellys are heard most reliably at dawn and dusk. During the day robins usually sing only caroled phrases.









This bird hidden in a conifer sang a song comprised only of hissellies (90 minutes after sunrise, Apr, PA). It was then chased off by a rival male.











Another example of a song comprised mostly of hissellies. In this case the bird was visible and sang with the bill in a slightly open but frozen position, and so it probably qualifies as a whisper song, a quiet song made without opening the beak fully. Quiet songs are often associated with aggression. (7.40am, Apr, PA).











Call notes are often interspersed between song phrases. In this example, the bird sang on the ground in darkness, then (at 60s) flew up into a tree, called for a time, and then resumed singing. There were very few hissellies in this dawn song (5.45am, Apr, PA).



Veery, at least two, possibly three birds countersinging, with calls in between song phrases (July, ME).

















(May,PA)



Hermit Thrush (July, ME)

(July, ME)

Hermit Thrushes alternate lower with higher phrases.
The first three phrases:





























Two Hermit Thrushes countersinging (July, ME).



Wood Thrush (June, NJ).



























The regular song is three-parted, but sometimes only the last part is sung, especially later in the season per BNA (June, PA).



Wood Thrush singing a common song variant with calls and split phrases (with Carolina Chickadee, June, NJ)











Swainson's Thrush (June, AK)










Swainson's Thrush singing an abbreviated song (June, AK)









Swainson's Thrush adding calls to the song sequence (July, ME).




Gray-cheeked Thrush (June, AK). The song can be divided into four parts, the introductory note being the first part. The third part rises, and the fourth part is the descending series. In Bicknell's Thrush, the third and fourth parts are switched, so that its song rises at the end.












Eastern Bluebird, song 40 minutes before sunrise (June, PA). The phrases of the song at dawn often start with alarm notes.
The first four phrases:
































The regular day song (Mar, PA).



Eastern Bluebird singing in fall (Oct, PA).

Sparrow songs

Chipping Sparrows each sing only one song (but the length varies). These two had adjacent territories (May, NJ).



















Oddly, Chipping Sparrows sing from the ground before sunrise. Also, the dawn songs are sung at a faster rate (5.54am, Apr, PA).











The Swamp Sparrow has a slower, more musical song (Jun, NJ). Each male has about 3 different songs.









Swamp Sparrow faster song (June, NJ)











The Dark-eyed Junco song is a ringing trill (July, ME).



(July, ME).



(migrant, Apr, PA).











Several migrants singing and calling (Apr, PA)
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Dark-eyed Juncos sing two different songs, the well-defined trill (Long-Range Song) and a quieter, more varied song (Short-Range Song).
This may be an example of the Short-Range Song, sung by a wintering bird low in vegetation, or could be plastic song by a young bird. I haven't found anything in the literature that defines the differences between the two.
(Feb, PA, with Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse and Red-bellied Woodpecker).








The bouncing ball song of the Field Sparrow. Each young male initially learns several songs, but uses only one after arriving on territory the next spring, a process known as selective attrition (Apr, NJ).













At dawn, the Field sparrow sings a different song, termed the complex song (30 mins before sunrise, May, DE).










In this case a dawn phrase was sung in between the regular daytime phrases (8.20am, Mar, PA).



Field Sparrows do not always start off with the dawn version. These birds kicked off with the regular song at dawn and did not use the dawn song (6.20am, 38 mins before sunrise, Mar, PA).



Two more examples of the dawn song, adjacent birds (5.40am, Aug, PA).







The next three sparrows have insect-like songs and were recorded in July at Kennebunk Plains in Maine.
The Clay-colored Sparrow is not a regular breeder in Maine:










Savannah Sparrow (males sing only one song).











Grasshopper Sparrow, regular song.










This is the regular song with an additional sustained ending, recorded at dawn.









An even more extended song, recorded with a Henslow's Sparrow singing, at a reclaimed strip mine, Piney Tract, Clarion, PA at the end of May in the afternoon.

time scale reduced






Grasshopper and Savannah Sparrows singing together, with Vesper in the background (Kennebunk Plains, ME, Jul).

LeConte's Sparrow is another species with an insect-like buzzy song, which doesn't carry far(June, MN).

LeConte's Sparrow complex ("flight") song at 2, 6 and 10s, with another bird high chipping in the foreground (June, MN).The song begins with a fast series of high chips, followed by a ti-ti ssyoo and then the buzzy regular song. The ssyoo recalls the flight call, but is single banded.

Both species of sharp-tailed sparrow breed at Scarborough marsh in Maine, where they were recorded in July.

Saltmarsh Sparrow has a quieter, more sustained and varied song with some warbling phrases.












Nelson's Sparrow (Tree Swallows in background)










This is a Nelson's Sparrow nelsoni subspecies recorded in North Dakota in June. It is interesting to compare the sonagram with that of the subvirgatus at Scarborough.










Nelson's Sparrows have a flight song which consists of a series of chips followed by the regular hissing song, which may ascend (July, ME).

reduced time scale








Seaside Sparrow in a southern NJ saltmarsh in May (repertoire is 2-4 songs).











The Seaside Sparrow has a longer song that is performed in short flights (May, NJ).












Henslow's Sparrows have a short song that is actually made up of about five notes that our ears cannot decipher separately (May, PA).










Vesper Sparrow (Kennebunk Plains, ME, Jul). Males each have a large song repertoire.











Some sparrows have really beautiful songs. Examples are Lincoln's and Fox Sparrow.

Lincoln's Sparrow in late May, Michigan. There was snow on the ground at the time.











This Fox Sparrow was recorded beside a creek in northern Alaska in June.










Like White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, Fox Sparrows are often heard singing during winter and in early spring before migrating north. This is an example of a migrant Fox Sparrow singing a simplified song. Perhaps a young bird still learning its song? (Nov, NJ).












American Tree Sparrow, each male has only one song (June, AK)












Song Sparrows have a repertoire of about 5-15 songs.
Two songs by the same bird (May, PA).
























Most White-throated Sparrows sing only one song (breeding grounds, July, ME).











migrant (Apr, PA)




White-crowned Sparrows also sing only one song (the songs on this recording are variable because they include first year birds which haven't yet crystallized their songs; Nov, NJ).













Harris's Sparrow, which winters in the mid-west and is a rare vagrant to the east, has a song similar to the White-throated Sparrow, but the notes of an individual song are all on one pitch. Each male has a repertoire of songs sung at different pitches. In winter though, they add a number of other phrases to these notes (Mar, NE).








































Bachman's Sparrow has a pretty song heard in southern pine woods (April, NC). This bird sang for over half an hour 20 feet up on a bare pine branch.

The first five phrases:

Eastern Towhee, males have a repertoire of about 4 songs (May, NJ).









A regular song alternating with an unusual chickadee-like trill (June, NJ).










Eastern Towhees occasionally include mimicry in their songs. This song begins and ends with the puck and flight calls of an American Robin (July, ME).



Here the song begins with a perfect imitation of a Hermit Thrush flight call (Aug, PA).
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Male Eastern and Spotted Towhees have a so-called complex quiet song (BNA) that can be heard during the breeding season after interactions with another towhee or even a bird of another species. The complex quiet song is a collection of call notes, and so is in a way similar to the rambling song of the White-eyed Vireo.

These recordings are of a male that had just interacted with another male. There are at least nine different calls, including the commonly heard chewink and lisping see, but also several different chip-like calls, a low, distant-sounding caw, and a high buzz. The calls went on for more than twelve minutes.


(June, NJ)

increased time scale
buzz









metallic chip









high chip










chewink









chip











chip










caw at 4 and 10s








chip








lisping see