7 Ways to Identify Birds by Song

Spring migration can be both thrilling and frustrating. We like to focus on the thrilling parts, but the truth is, many birders can be overwhelmed by the chorus of birdsong during a morning walk. When both residents and migrants are mixing in the woods, overlapping trills, chips, warbles and whistles can make it hard to focus on a single song, let alone identify it to species.

But with some patience and a few tech-friendly tips, you can improve your ability to identify birds by song.

1. Focus On One Bird At a Time. Write down species that you can positively identify, then tune them out and focus on a song you can’t place.
2. Lock The Song Into Auditory Memory. Sing the birdsong out loud (silently if it will disturb the bird) between 5 – 10 times. Better yet, keep the bird’s soundtrack playing in your head until you confirm its ID.
3. Jot Down a Description. Use whatever description works for you. Does the song go “tweet,” “sweet,” or “teesa?” Does it whistle or buzz? Is the song two-parted, four-parted, or does it run on in a complex warble? Does it end on an up-note or down-note? The more you pay attention to song descriptions in field guides, especially audio guides, the wider vocabulary you’ll have to describe them.Sometimes a song defies easy description, and its only distinguishing quality is the cadence. I’ve been known to use a “morse code-like” series of dashes, slashes, and tildas of various lengths that attempts to describe the rhythm and pattern of a song. Tain’t pretty, but when I’m hankering to remember a song I’ll try anything.
4. Record Yourself. I sometimes mimic the song into a voice recorder application on my iPhone (iTalk). That way, I’m less likely to forget its tone and cadence as time slips away. (The embarrassment of listening to my own voice well outweighs the memory trigger! I’m no Selma, but still…)
5. Compare Against Birdsong Audio Files. Assuming you have a species in mind and carry a digital device (smart phone or MP3 player) loaded with birdsongs, bring it out and quietly play the song into your ear. Compare it to what you heard in the field. I find the iBird application for the iPhone extremely handy in this situation. Not only can you easily call up the species in question and play its song, but making comparisons to sound-a-likes is a breeze: similar sounding species are listed on the same screen. This has led me down a better path more than once.

    Caution: Do not move onto this step before you’ve cemented the song into your memory, even if the bird is still present, because he could set off or quiet down any moment. Also, be sure to follow the American Birding Association principles of birding etiquette, which state:

   “To avoid stressing birds or exposing them to danger, exercise restraint and caution during observation, photography, sound recording, or filming. Limit the use of recordings and other methods of attracting birds, and never use such methods in heavily birded areas, or for attracting any species that is Threatened, Endangered, or of Special Concern, or is rare in your local area.”

   Finally, do not listen to too many audio files. My experience shows that memory of the original song diminishes in proportion to the number of songs heard afterwards.

6. Narrow the Possibilities. By now, hopefully, you can narrow your mystery bird down to family and excluded a number of species. Once again, focus on every detail you can remember of the song…and then try to select the most fitting ID from all the “data” you’ve assembled. If no confident possiblities surface, you may have to accept that you cannot identify your bird. Here’s a last-but-not-least tip that’s usually learned the hard way:
7. Verify Your Selection!! Once you make an educated guess, verify whether or not the species occurs in your area at this time of year. Check range maps, the local listserv, your state Breeding Bird Survey, the eBird database, or discuss it with a few other birders. This will give you the confidence you need to accept or reject your ID.I recently skipped this oh-so-important step and, even though I’d spent quite a bit of time and energy on steps 1 – 6, wound up making an improbable out-of-range guess. I shared my sighting with a few friends who questioned me about it in a sweet, polite tone. You know the one…it’s the tone that birders-more-experienced-than-you use when they don’t want to make you cry. And while my guess was not unheard of, it violated Ockham’s razor: the simplest explanation is most likely the correct one! Doh! I left my sighting unconfirmed.

***

After following Steps 1- 7 to identify a bird by song, you’ve done about all you can do to make the best possible guess, other than carrying a pocket ornithologist with you. Rejoice! It’s tough work.

If you can, run your assumptions by another birder. Never let fear of being wrong stop you for consulting others. Any birder worth their salt is going to be patient and honest with others who are trying to learn.

And whether or not you successfully ID this bird, all the study you put into the process is going to improve your birding-by-ear skills for next time.

What do you think? Do you have any birding-by-ear tips to add?

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Tagged as: birding-by-ear, iBird