Guide to North American BirdSongs
Guide to North American Bird Songs and Sounds
Entire guide at a glance.
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Sound or song consists of a single note.
Clear whistle.
Moderately pitched.
Single or repeated, but slowly.
Quickly repeated
High pitched
Single or repeated, but slowly.
Repeated quickly as a trill or twitter.
Harsh, unmusical sound
High pitched
Short, sharp, may be repeated.
Longer in duration.
Moderately-pitched
Short, sharp, may be repeated.
Longer in duration.
Low-pitched croak or squawk.
Low pitched
Short in duration.
Moderate in duration.
Long in duration.
Repeated
Sound or song consists of two notes.
Clear whistle.
Descending.
Rising.
Notes repeated as a song.
Moderately pitched.
High pitched.
Quacks, yelps, barks or honks, of various pitches.
Relatively low pitched.
Relatively high pitched.
Low-pitched.
Harsh, unmusical sound (at least to my ear).
Intermediate in pitch.
High-pitched.
Sound or song consists of three or more notes.
Short series of notes, repeated.
Harsh, unmusical sound (at least to my ear).
Some harsh or unmusical parts.
Song musical, not harsh.
Low-pitched.
Higher-pitched.
Change in pitch only.
Rising in pitch.
Pitch variable.
Descending in pitch.
Complex sounds or songs
Song issued as phrases, separated by discrete pauses.
High in pitch.
Song does not have a distinctive beginning or end.
Song has a distinctive beginning or end
Beginning of song distinctive
End of song distinctive
Both beginning and end of song distinctive
Moderate in pitch.
Song does not have a distinctive beginning or end.
Song has at least some harsh parts
Not harsh or unmusical.
Song has a distinctive beginning or end,
Song issued as a continuous series of notes, with no obvious pauses.
High in pitch.
At least some harsh, unmusical parts
Sound or song is musical, not harsh.
Moderate in pitch.
At least some harsh, unmusical parts
Sound or song is musical, not harsh.
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