Field Notes

Laurie Sanders' Tips for Listening to Birdsong

Tips for Recognizing Bird Songs

Identifying birds by ear is probably the most challenging (and potentially frustrating) part of birdwatching. But by learning the songs, you have a much better sense of just how many scarlet tanagers or indigo buntings there are, hidden up in the leaves of the canopy. Here are a few tips, taken from David Sibley's Guide to Birds, advice from University of Massachusetts ornithologist Don Kroodsma and personal experience.

First off, nothing substitutes for being outdoors, hearing a bird and tracking it down by its song. And then listen and watch. Try to imitate the song or call, either in words or making a sound. Often times a pneumonic device is helpful. For instance, the red-eyed vireo - one of our most common forest breeding birds - is usually high up in the canopy, gleaning insects and singing "hear me, see me, watch me...hear I am, see me" etc. Or, the black & white warbler sings "wheezy, wheezy, wheezy".

As you listen to a song, Sibley recommends listening for the following:

• Pitch: is it high or low? Rising or falling?
• Quality: Is it harsh or clear? Liquid or buzzy?
• Rhythm: Is it fast or slow? Choppy or singsong?

Also, make note of the length of the song. Songs are longer and more distinctive, whereas calls are shorter and simpler. Songs are used to stake territories, lure females and recognize other members of your tribe. Calls vary in their use, and range from recognition of other members to aggressive noises, flights calls, etc.

Take it Slow & Easy

Don't try to learn too many songs at once, and it's best to start in your own backyard and learn the songs of the birds you commonly hear. Then, as you gain more experience, you'll be able to recognize different songs.

Tapes & CDs

Audio tapes or CDs can be very helpful to confirm the identification of a song, or familiarize yourself with a song before heading out to the field. But don't count on learning birdsongs by listening to song after song during a long road trip.

Finally...

There is one caution about learning birdsong and that is that you just identify it by ear, and then move on. Remember identification is only part of the pleasure of birdwatching, watching how they behave is even more enjoyable.

Music Inspired by Birdsong

Many composers have been inspired by birdsong. Ottorino Resphigi used a recording of a nightingale for his Pines of Rome, and Olivier Messiaen imitated birdsong in many compositions, including "Abîme des oiseaux" for solo clarinet from his "Quatuor pour le fin du temps" ("Quartet for the End of Time"), "Oiseaux exotiques" for piano and small orchestra, "Le merle noir" for flute, and the enormous "Catalogue d'oiseaux" for piano. Here are some other selections:

• Respighi's "Gli uccelli" ("The Birds")
• "Spring" from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," as well as his "Il Gardellino" ("The Goldfinch") Flute Concerto.
• Einojuhani Rautavaara's "Cantus Arcticus," or Concerto for Birds and Orchestra
• Ralph Vaughan Williams's "The Lark Ascending"
• Clément Janequin 's "Le chant des oiseau," probably the best-known of the many Renaissance chansons & madrigals on the theme of birds
• Mozart's "Der Vogelfanger bin ich, ja!" ("I am the Birdcatcher), Papageno's aria from The Magic Flute
• Robert Schumann's "Vogel als Prophet" ("Prophet Bird") from his "Waldscenen" ("Forest Scenes")
• Franz Schubert's "Ständchen" ("Serenade"), "Horch, horch! die Lerch'"
• Stanford's part song "The Blue Bird"
• Hoagy Carmichael's "Baltimore Oriole" sung by Sheila Jordan on Portrait of Sheila.

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