Some warbler species call between song phrases, notably Blackburnian and Black-throated Green Warbler (and others in the virens group). These calls are typically heard when the more aggressive territorial song is being sung. What's interesting about these calls is that in many, perhaps most, cases, the calls are the same as the juvenile begging calls of the species. In other words, an adult male is using a vocalization from early life when defending territory. The calls seem to be acting as "filler" between phrases, perhaps accentuating the vocal impact of the male.
Black-throated Green Warbler song (July, ME)
Black-throated Green Warbler fledglings (July, ME)
The normal adult chip is much lower (Oct, NJ)
Blackburnian Warbler singing at dawn (July, ME)
Blackburnian Warbler fledglings (July, ME)
Thanks for sharing these bird calls! After a lifetime of ignoring them, we installed a few squirrel proof bird feeders last month so we could learn to listen for some of our local feathered friends. Your blog makes this new world of birding a little easier to learn.
Birds of the World Online previously The Birds of North America Online (BNA). Comprehensive information on all aspects of life history, including audio and video. By subscription.
Birdsong by the Seasons. Donald Kroodsma, Houghton Mifflin, 2009. Another great book with CDs from Dr Kroodsma.
Flight Calls of Migratory Birds WR Evans and M O'Brien. CD-ROM www.oldbird.org. Excellent source of information on flight calls
Nature's Music, The Science of Birdsong. Peter Marler and Hans Slabbekoorn. Elsevier Academic press. 2004. A treasure trove of information, advanced but very readable (comes with CD).
Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America. Nathan Pieplow, 2017. Highly recommended, includes almost all known vocalizations of eastern US birds, with spectrograms and detailed analysis. Excellent!
Stokes Field Guide to Bird Song, Eastern Region, by Lang Elliot. 3 CDs. Of commercial recordings, this has the most comprehensive collection of songs and calls.
The Singing Life of Birds. Donald Kroodsma, Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Terrific book (plus CD), a must read.
The Songs of Wildbirds. Lang Elliott., Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Excellent photos with high quality recordings including some rare ones such as the flight song of the Western Meadowlark.
The Sound Approach to Birding. A guide to understanding bird sound. A. van de Berg, M Constantine, M. Robb. Superb discussion of bird calls and song with 2 CDs.
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Thanks for sharing these bird calls! After a lifetime of ignoring them, we installed a few squirrel proof bird feeders last month so we could learn to listen for some of our local feathered friends. Your blog makes this new world of birding a little easier to learn.
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