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Voices and Vocabularies - Three Hidden Sparrows
© Daniel Cadieux
Some birds have a remarkable knack for staying out of sight. Often we don’t know they’re nearby, until they sing. But with a little practice, we can learn to identify birds without seeing them. Listen to the songs of the Song Sparrow, the Chipping Sparrow, and the White-throated Sparrow -- like this one. Notice the differences between the songs – and imagine how birding by ear might enhance your experience in nature!
Voices and Vocabularies - Three Hidden Sparrows Sing
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is BirdNote.
[White-throated Sparrow song; Song Sparrow song; Chipping Sparrow Song]
Some birds – sparrows come to mind – have a remarkable knack for staying out of sight. We sometimes don’t even know they’re nearby until they sing. [Chipping Sparrow song] But when they do, we can – with a little practice – tell who’s who without seeing them at all.
Listen to the first singer. [White-throated Sparrow song] Pure, long, whistled notes in a very distinct pattern. Some say it sounds like “Old Sam Pea, Peabody, Peabody”. [White-throated Sparrow song] This is the exquisite song of a White-throated Sparrow.
Then we hear a second hidden sparrow, offering a song very different from the first: [Song Sparrow song] a series of short, ringing notes, tottering into an abrupt, buzzy phrase. [Song Sparrow song] Meet the Song Sparrow.
Now the third in the trio: [Chipping Sparrow song] a long, dry trill. A simple song, you might say, neither whistled nor jumbled like the first two. Say hello to the Chipping Sparrow [Chipping Sparrow song].
Even if we can’t see the birds, the songs of sparrows entice us to listen. White-throated Sparrow [White-throated Sparrow song] Song Sparrow [Song Sparrow song] Chipping Sparrow [Chipping Sparrow Song].
For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. White-throated Sparrow song #66750 recorded by W.W.H. Gunn. Song Sparrow song #44866 recorded by G.A. Keller. Chipping Sparrow song and ambient #84756 recorded by W.L. Hershberger.
BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and produced by John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2013 Tune In to Nature.org March 2013 Narrator: Michael Stein
ID# sound-14-2013-03-14 sound-14