How to Identify the Call of a Songbird

Listen to tapes or CDs of various songbirds. Use a tape or CD that has the songbird calls labeled so that the calls are associated with specific birds. Listen to the sounds until you can identify the various calls.

Look in a bird identification book. Familiarize yourself with the types and identifying characteristics of songbirds. Besides knowing the sound of the bird, knowing the type of bird is important. Not only does it ensure that the bird calls are coming from songbirds, but it gives information about the birds, including common names of birds that might be identified on the CD or tape under a scientific name.

Listen to the bird calls without a book or CD. Determine the calls that are recognizable and identifiable. For sounds that are not known, look up the sound later to determine which bird made it.

Go into the field and listen for songbird calls. Every songbird will have different calls and songs, ranging from the "bob-bob-white" of bobwhites to the "twitter-tweet" calls of sparrows. Some birds' songs are so distinctive, you will not have to spend much time listening before you can identify them. However, some songbirds, like canaries, which make sounds like a "twiiir-twee-twee-twee" might be mistaken for similar songbirds, so learning the tones and specific sounds the birds make is important. High-pitched sounds or low-pitched sounds can sometimes be the only difference between two different songbirds.

Track the bird, if you can, and get a mental or physical picture of the bird to match its sound. Look up the bird by appearance if it is an unknown bird. Record the sounds the bird is making and be sure to label it so that you can match up your picture with your recording at a later time. A simple picture or sound recording makes identifying the bird easier and makes it easier to recognize the song bird's calls later.