birdsoundspage

Bird Sounds Page

Last updated 11 May 2010

Classes and Workshops on Bird Sounds
Albany Adult School - Birding by Ear classes for this spring are currently full. I will be teaching fall 2010 classes.
Cornell Audio Workshop - For the serious student of wildlife and bird sound recording. Held in the Yuba Pass/Sierra Valley area.

Learning bird sounds is an important skill which will add an enriching dimension to your birding enjoyment.

Bird Sound Recordings CDs
* Bird Songs of California Although this 3-CD set does not cover many of the non-passerine sounds, it is still one of the best collections of California bird sounds, offering the widest range of sounds for a given species.
Liner notes give recording locations, and informative comments. *Highly recommended for my BBE students.
Peterson Field Guides - Western Bird Sounds A sampling of many western species. Mostly each species primary song or call often with additional vocalizations.
Peterson Field Guides - Western Birding by Ear Very helpful recording comparing similar bird songs. I'd recommend this to anyone starting to bird by ear.
Stokes Bird Songs - Western Edition Also useful as a reference.
Bird Voices of Northern California LeValley and Fix. Informative comments follow each example.
Bird Songs of the Pacific States Bird songs grouped by habitat.

Books on Birdsong
The Singing Life of Birds - by Donald Kroodsma (includes CD)
A great way to learn bird sounds by looking at sonograms. A most helpful learning tool, explained in such a way that one can visualize the essence of bird's vocalizations. *Highly recommended for my BBE students.
Bird Song, a Natural History - by Don Stap
A book I would recommend for the beginnings who want to get an over view of the world of bird sounds and people who study them. Mr. Stap also writes about the workshop he join near Yuba Pass and Sierra Valley! (Listen Donald Kroodsma and Don Stap interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air".)

Chipping Sparrow Photo by Dave Furseth
Spizella passerina

Check Your Hearing
Many people are unable to hear birds with vocalizations in the higher frequency ranges, such as Cedar Waxwing, Brown Creeper, and Golden-crowned Kinglet, because these birds' sounds fall in the the 6 to 8 kHz range. See how your hearing responds to these high frequency!

Nature's Music: The Science of Birdsong - Marler and Slabbekoorn (includes 2- CDs)
One of the most up to date references on what is currently known about bird song. Read the 2005 review in Wild California.
Neuroscience of Birdsong - Zeigler and Marler - For even more information for serious study of the bird brain its relationship to birdsong!!

The McCaulay Library Cornell has an amazing collection of bird sounds.
Cornell Lab of Ornitholgy's All About Birds Information about bird species, some with sound bits.
xeno-canto Bird songs from the Americas and around the world. I have posted recordings of Lawrence's Goldfinch, Tricolored Blackbirds and Virgina Rail "kicker call" on this site.
North American Bird Sounds An wide selection of bird sound with a few sentences about each.
Western Palearctic Region - European Birds Songs, Calls and Sonagrams.
Link to Bird Sounds - an impressive array of links to bird sounds sites.
Bird Life International's Bird Links to the World - Bird Sound page. Many links to world sounds.
Nathan Pieplow blog "earbirding" Learn to study sonograms and read discussions about bird sounds.
The Oakland Museum's Listening to Nature - A Sound Walk Across California

Bird Sounds Online

Readings Online (*these have listening links)
*Anna's Hummingbirds make popping sound with their tail feathers. From UC Berkeley News.
*Cornell Lab of Ornitholgy's All About Birds Tips for beginners learning bird sounds.
*Gary Ritchison's Bird Vocalizations site The best I've found! Readings, videos and additonal links.
Birds sing in their sleep From the BBC
Vocal Development - Vocal Function - Vocal Dialects - Vocal Copying From Stanford
(European) Robins forced to sing at night to beat traffic noise From the Guardian (UK)
Birdsong and Human Speach: Common Themes and Mechanisms -Allison J. Doupe, Patricia K. Kuhl
*Describing Bird Sounds in Words by Nathan Pieplow - ABA article from July/August Birding.
*Red Crossbill Research - Mad River Biologists

Readings from Selected Books
*Sibley's Beginner's Birding - Chapter 8 - Voice, pages 66 - 75 *Highly recommended for my BBE students.

Videos on Bird Sounds and Birding by Ear
David Attenborough and the Suberb Lyrebird of Australia - My all time favorite.
Club-winged Manakin - making tonal sounds with wings. From National Geographic.

General Nature Sounds Links
Nature Sound Society - In the summer of 1993, I participated their Field Workshop at San Francisco State University's field station at Yuba Pass. It was an opportunity to go beyond bird sounds and learn about nature sound recording in general.
Music and Nature - Interesting features, interviews and sound clips.

A Personal Bird Call Mystery Finally Identified
In the fall of 2008, while birding in San Ramon along the Iron Horse Regional Trail that passes between the business park, I heard a loud call coming from the top of one of the buildings which I could not identify. For two months I listened but the calls did not seem change, and I never could locate the source The strangest part was the quality of the vocalization sounded like distress calls given by birds I have seen being attacked by accipiters. I finally spoke with a building maintenance person who told me these were sonic bird deterrents called from a company called Bird X. I pass this on to you so when you are out birding in the suburban parkways you will not be fooled, too! Our company has now moved to Walnut Creek, and this call was heard in the summer from Target, south east of the Walnut Creek BART station.

Denise's Bird Sounds Recordings Page - Equipment I use to record bird sounds and other recording resources.

Birders learn to identify bird sounds in a variety of ways. My best advice is use the techniques that work best for you. The use of memory tricks, such as word/ sound association and mnemonics, as well as visual images of the sound through sonograms or line drawings can be helpful. Repetition, constant practice in the field, and especially the desire to learn bird sound are important. Take time to learn how to listen deeply to birds. Try to listen beyond background noises. If you can, listen at times and in places where bird vocalizations are the dominant sounds you hear. Below are links to online sites that can help you get started, and keep you interested in the learning more.
All About Birds Birding Basics - Songs and Calls will give you some good ideas on how to start birding by ear.

Denise's Local Bird Sounds - to be used for study in my AAS Birding by Ear Classses for study.

Do you know you have real problems hearing birds? You may want to check out Sound Finder.