The Beauty of Birdsong

When I began watching my backyard birds, I learned very quickly to identify the most common birds by their field markings, but I had a much harder time learning all their various calls and songs. So I've put together a handy guide for my fellow New Englanders of some of the most common sounds made by the most common birds you're likely to encounter in your back yard. (Or at least by the ones I commonly encounter in mine.)

Eastern Bluebird

Visually, the male is easily distinguished by his very bright blue back and head and his rust-colored bib. The blue of the females is much more subdued, ranging from lighter blue to dark grey with only a tinge of blue, but the rusty bib is still evident, although paler. 

Unlike many other visitors to my feeder, I rarely hear the bluebird calling. But if you are fortunate to hear them, you'll recognize them by their squeaky trill. 

Northern Blue Jay

Another vividly blue bird, the blue jay has a noticeable crest, a black collar and facial markings, and black and white bars across its blue wings. 

It has some of the most varied calls and songs of any of the birds in my backyard. One of the most common calls is a harsh, crow-like "Jay!" which is often repeated. But in addition to that, it can produce a variety of rattles, gurgles, guttural honks, and even squeaks. If you hear a loud, raspy call in your yard, chances are it's a blue jay.

Northern Cardinal

Like the bluebird, the male and female vary greatly by the intensity of their coloring, with the male a vivid scarlet with a black mask, and the female a buffy brown with just a tinge of red and a smaller mask. Both have bright orange beaks and a crest which they can raise or lower. They tend to be ground foragers but will visit hanging feeders, especially tray feeders.

Cardinals produce a number of calls that are more whistles than melodies. I frequently hear their sharp, staccato chip-chip-chip alarm call when they approach the feeder, but in the nearby trees I hear the whooping call following by a slower chew-chew-chew-chew, as heard at the beginning of the first video, and also the wheet-wheet-wheet following by a short descending whistle, as heard at around 1:52 in the same video, and the repeated descending note heard at 2:12. In the spring, I very frequently hear what I describe as their "Three Stooges" love call (second video), a distinctive whoob-whoob-whoob sound sometimes preceded by a descending whistle. (Note: the female shown at the feeder 37 seconds in has her crest completely lowered, which gives her a very different profile! But her vivid orange beak is a dead giveaway.)

Carolina Wren

The most distinctive field marks for me in identifying this little wren are the warm brown color, the white eye bar, and the usually tail-up posture. 

The male wren sings a repeated 3-note call that is sometimes described as "teakettle, teakettle, teakettle" (first video). I frequently hear this call in the trees. The wrens also make a musical chirring call (second video), which my local wrens frequently use to announce their presence at the feeder.

Black-Capped Chickadee

One of the friendliest and tamest visitors, the chickadees are easily identified by their black cap and beard, broad white facial stripe, grey back, and white belly with just a tinge of buff. 

This video begins with an abbreviated dee-dee-dee version of the more common chickadee-dee-dee call (you can hear that one 42 seconds in), followed by a love call (at about 8 seconds) that sounds like "Hey, sweetie" (one long note and two shorter connected notes), and another love call (about 22 seconds in) that's more like a two-note "Sweeee-tieee". I also find the chickadees have noisy wings, so when I'm sitting outside near the feeders, I know one has landed by the flutter of wings (you can hear this at about 36 seconds in the video). 

Brown-Headed Cowbird

The male cowbird is easy to identify because of his brown head, which contrasts with his glossy black body. The female looks much like a sparrow or finch, but is somewhat larger and has a slightly longer beak.

I love the description of the cowbird call as a "liquid gurgle followed by thin descending whistles" (best heard at about 15 seconds into this video). For being a relatively large and rather aggressive bird, their calls are decidedly wimpy-sounding. 

House Finch

Male house finches have a reddish belly and face, while both genders have buffy bodies with streaked breasts and a short, stubby beak. One of their distinctive behaviors is that they tend to stay at the feeder for minutes at a time, eating in place, as opposed to many other songbirds which take a seed away, eat it, and then return. 

House finches have a squeaky little call that reminds me of, "Hello. You there?" They occasionally sing this call while sitting at the feeder. 

American Goldfinch

The male goldfinch is bright yellow in spring and summer, and the female is noticeably yellow, but the coloration of both fades during the cooler seasons. Even when the yellow undertones are harder to see, the contrasting black wings with white wing bars are easy to recognize. Like house finches, goldfinches stay at the feeder to eat, often upwards of 10 minutes at a time.

The goldfinches have a musical, twittering call that goes on for several seconds. They frequently sing when they arrive at the feeder and while they are sitting at it. They occasionally demonstrate a more aggressive version of the call when challenging each other for prized spots at the feeder. 

Cooper's Hawk

We have a beautiful Cooper's hawk that hangs around in the woods near the bird feeders, hoping to grab a snack. Cooper's are easy to distinguish from the equally-common red-tailed hawk because of their size (difficult to determine in flight, but on the ground or close up, the Cooper's is noticeably smaller), and also because of the shape and pattern of the tail, which is more narrow and rectangular than the fan-shaped tail of the red-tailed hawk, and which has distinct dark bands across it. 

I hear this first sound (13 seconds in) all the time and literally only learned while writing this blog that it was the Cooper's hawk. I wondered if it might be a variation of the pileated woodpecker's call. I definitely hear it more in the spring, which makes sense since it is a mating call. I have also heard the single "kik" call (37 seconds in) right before I see it swoop down to land near the feeder. And I have never heard the third sound, 1 minute in, probably because the nest is deeper in the woods than can be heard from my yard. 

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Only the male hummingbirds sport the ruby throat for which they are named, along with a glossy, vivid emerald body. The female has an undertone of green but is noticeably less vivid. 

In addition to the surprisingly noisy buzz of their wings (which varies in volume among individuals; we've had one in past years that I dubbed Kylo Ren because his wings sounded like a lightsaber swinging!), hummingbirds produce a range of twitters and squeaks (jump ahead in the video 15 seconds to hear both wings and calls). Hummingbirds are very territorial, and if several hummers are at the feeder at the same time, they will often chase each other around the yard, chittering furiously. 

Dark-Eyed Junco

Dark-eyed juncos are more common at my feeder in the winter, which I find appropriate because their white bellies (which do not continue up the breast) makes it look like they've been walking through snow. Although they do visit the feeders, they spend most of their time in a large group (anywhere from half a dozen to 20 or more) foraging on the ground underneath the feeders. 

The most common sound I hear from my juncos is a light tu-tu-tu-tu that reminds me of tapping on a high-tension wire. It occasionally has a bit of a trill thrown in, and gets faster and more insistent when they challenge each other, as they frequently do. 

Mourning Dove

These pigeon-sized birds tend to be ground feeders, but will occasionally hop up to the bird bath for a drink, or onto the porch railing, especially in winter when they can warm their feet a bit there. They rarely land on my feeders, although I've heard that they will visit larger tray feeders when available. 

The mournful coo for which they are named is easy to recognize: a rising two-note "whoo-OOH" followed by three falling notes, "whoo, whoo-whoo." If you jump ahead to about 1:22 in the video, you will hear a less common variation of this call made by nest-building males. Mourning doves also make a sound called a "wing whistle" when they take off in flight; this sound can be heard starting at about 1:55 in the video. 

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

This lovely little bird is a seasonal visitor to my yard. He shares his sleek, streamlined shape with the more common white-breasted nuthatch, but is much smaller and has a reddish belly and breast, and a distinct black eyestripe and narrow cap. 

Red-breasted nuthatches have a meep-meep call not unlike their larger cousins, but the sounds I hear more frequently are the quiet chitters heard starting at 53 seconds in. They can be quite aggressive, so when challenged for feeder space, I definitely hear the scolding call that starts at 1:05. 

White-Breasted Nuthatch

Nuthatches look similar to chickadees, except that their "cap" is narrower and ends at the top of the beak, they have a longer, thinner beak, and their body is very sleek and torpedo-shaped. They also tend to hang upside down on trees and feeders. 

Nuthatches have a cute, nasal meep-meep call (20 seconds into first video) that I refer to as "cartoon noises." It reminds me of a meeker version of the Roadrunner's "MEEP MEEP!" They frequently meep quietly to themselves at the feeder as well as in the trees. Sometimes the repeated meep is cut down to a sharper two-note MEEP-MEEP as an alarm call (at about the 2-minute mark of the first video). The second video includes another common repeated call at the beginning, and at the 1-minute mark, a raspy repeated "yank-yank".

American Robin

This famous harbinger of spring is easy to identify by his red breast, as well as his habit of hopping around the yard pecking for worms. Robins also have a distinctive habit of flying close to the ground and only swooping up to tree height just before landing. 

The robin's most common call, in this first video, is often described as "Cheer up! Cheery-up!" although the pattern may vary slightly. I find that this call tends to be an early-morning call heard more rarely later in the day or early evening. I may have particularly grumpy robins, as I tend to much more often hear their "scolding" or alarm call, heard in the second video, a sharp repeated "chuck" sometimes followed by a more musical repeated "bop-bop". 

Chipping Sparrow

This tiny sparrow is noticeably smaller than the similar-patterned house finches and sparrows, and I find the most noticeable field markings (in addition to size) to be its orange-brown cap. These sparrows frequently hop around on the ground under the feeder in addition to taking seeds from the feeder itself.

In addition to the sharp chip-chip for which they're named (jump ahead to about 2:20 in the video to hear it), they have a lovely liquid trill that you can hear at 12 seconds into this video. 

House Sparrow

Female house sparrows are somewhat drab and easily confused with other sparrows and finches, but the males have a noticeable black mask and bib, as well as rusty red and black wings.

House sparrows tend to be quite noisy, and if you have a few at your feeder at the same time, you're likely to hear the type of noisy chatter heard at the start of this video. If you jump ahead to about 1:25, you'll hear a single repeated "cheep" which is also commonly heard. 

Song Sparrow

Song sparrows have a streaked breast like the house finch, but have a darker brown eyestripe and stripe on the top of their heads, and also tend to be a bit larger. 

The song sparrow's song is usually a few repeated notes that dissolves into a musical trill, sometimes with a few notes added on at the end. You may hear several sparrows calling back and forth to each other. You may also hear a much simpler chip-chip call, as heard at 1:13 in this video. 

Tufted Titmouse

Like the chickadee, titmice are quite friendly and will often come very close to people without fear. They have a distinctive grey crest which they can raise and lower, a small black patch over their bill, and and often have a tinge of buff under their wings. 

The "chew-chew-chew" whistle at the start of the video is often heard in my yard, and the "wee-do wee-do wee-do" at 1:12 is almost constant background noise, as is the raspy squawk at 2:15. 

Downy Woodpecker

This small, somewhat shy woodpecker is most commonly seen at my suet feeder, although they have become more frequent at my seed feeders as well. The male has a red patch on the back of his head, while the female is strictly black and white. 

The first of the three sounds in this video is described as an "excited whinny" (15 seconds in). I hear this sound all the time, both in the woods and when several downies are at the feeder at the same time. As the video notes, the pitch drops at the end, which is unlike the similar call of the hairy woodpecker (see below). The second call, which the downies frequently make as they approach the feeder and while at the feeder, is a repeated chip (44 seconds in). Although sharp, it's not especially loud. And the third sound is drumming (1:05), which is not actually pecking for insects, but used to communicate with other woodpeckers. (Mine occasionally drum on my roof, which I highly discourage.) Surprisingly, downies have a slower pattern than the larger hairy woodpeckers (although not slower than the much larger pileated woodpeckers). 

Hairy Woodpeckers

There are two main differences between downy and hairy woodpeckers: hairies are significantly larger, and they have a slightly more sturdy-looking bill. A handy way to tell the differences if you have a standard-sized, cage-style suet feeder is that the downies are shorter than the height of the cage, and the hairies are taller. 

Hairies also make sounds that are quite similar to downies, but with a few distinctions that make it easy to tell the difference. Like the downies, they have a "whinny" call (40 seconds into video), but the hairies' call stays on a single pitch rather than dropping at the end as the downies do. They also make a repeated chip (15 seconds in) that is somewhat harder to distinguish from the hairies, other than it tends to be louder, lower, and repeated more quickly. And they drum (1:04), supposedly faster than the downies, although my ear can't distinguish the difference. 

Pileated Woodpeckers

We refer to pileated woodpeckers as "pterodactyls" in our house, because its large size, huge wingspan, and vivid red crest give it the silhouette of a pterodactyl when it flies. Unlike other woodpeckers, both the males and the females have the red crest.

We hear our pileateds much more frequently than we see them. Their loud "gak-gak-gak" call (15 seconds into the video) can be heard moving from tree to tree throughout the neighborhood. Pileateds are very territorial, so if you hear this call, try playing back a recorded call and the woodpecker might come nearer to check out the interloper. A similar but less sharp call sounds almost like a quack to me (43 seconds in), and is heard a little less often but is still relatively common. I have not heard the interaction calls at about one minute in, but we have only recently had two pileateds nearby at the same time (likely a breeding pair), so I hope to hear this sound in the near future. And finally, drumming (1:15), which is noticeably slower and lower-pitched than the downies and hairies. 

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Despite their name, the most noticeable red on these birds is on their heads (although they do have a tinge of pink of their bellies). Males (left in the photo above) have a red stripe that runs from the nape of their neck to the top of their bill, while females (right in the photo above) have a stripe from their nape only to the top of their head, plus a small patch at the top of their bill. Their black-and-white speckled wings are also very distinctive, as is their large size, somewhat bigger than a hairy woodpecker (but still much smaller than a pileated). 

I heard the distinctive squawk (16 seconds in) many times before I realized which bird was making it. I hear the "contact call" (39 seconds in) less frequently, usually as the single note call rather than the connected "che-che-che". And again, the drumming (1:02) sounds to my ear much the same as the downies and hairies, although perhaps slightly lower and slower.