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Bird Sound Identification: How to ID Early-Arriving Warblers

 

How well do you know your singing warblers? Take this pop quiz featuring some of the earliest-migrating warblers in North America. Depending on where you live, they could be showing up in your neighborhood any day now! Is the bird calling in this video a Black-and-white Warbler (A), Louisiana Waterthrush (B), or Common Yellowthroat (C)? 

Did you get a good listen? Check out the answer by scrolling down...

 


That's right, C was the correct answer!

  • A: Black-and-white Warblers have a higher-pitched, squeaky song compared to the Common Yellowthroat, with faster notes and a more even rhythm. This early-migrating warbler can most often be found crawling up tree trunks and branches. Listen to examples of Black-and-white Warbler sounds here.
  • B: The Louisiana Waterthrush's song starts with 2-4 descending notes, then switches to a jumble of notes specific to the individual bird. Once you’ve heard one, search for it along the banks of a flowing stream. Listen to the Louisiana Waterthrush's songs.
  • C: Yes! This was a Common Yellowthroat. This song, often described with the mnemonic witchety-witchety-witchety, is sung by male yellowthroats to defend the territory and attract mates. Keep an ear out for them in shrubby wet areas, including marshes, forest edges, and fields. Hear other Common Yellowthroat sounds.

 

Check out the resources below for even more bird song information.


 
Links to the "How to Record Bird Sounds with your Smartphone" article. A recordist uses his phone to record outdoors. Text on image: How to Record Bird Sounds with your Smartphone. Photo by Victoria Campbell.

With the advent of smartphones, many people have powerful bird song recording devices at their fingertips every time they go birding. Interested in making your own bird sound recordings, but not sure where to start? Here are our tips for recording with your smartphone.
A Northern Cardinal is shown opposite a Steller's Jay. Text on image: Voices of Backyard Birds. Northern Cardinal copyright Brad Imhoff and Macaulay Library. Steller's Jay copyright Jim Merritt and Macaulay Library.

Backyard birds sing extraordinary songs.
Have them at your fingertips with this compilation of free audio files from common species found throughout the United States and Canada. Enter your email in the form below to choose the Eastern or Western set, each with 14 mp3 files and an accompanying guide. Once you've downloaded them, you're on your way to a new appreciation of your local soundscape.
Please note: the sound files are compressed into one zip file, which needs to first be downloaded and opened on a desktop computer before individual files can be played on mobile devices.
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