Birding by Ear

There's a lot to look forward to in spring for birders.

The flowers are blooming, old friends are returning,  and birdsong is at its peak. The sheer volume of songs and calls can often feel overwhelming for birders, but these sounds offer an opportunity and a challenge. With our birding-by-ear series you can learn how to better ID birds through their vocalizations. 

Pt. 1: Start Listening for Songs and Calls
Pt. 2: Learn the Most Common Kinds of Sounds
Pt. 3: Connect Noises With Pictures That Stick
Pt. 4: Grow Familiar With Neighborhood Voices
Pt. 5: 鈥淩ead鈥 Sounds on Spectrograms
Pt. 6: Know If It's a Mimic or the Real Deal
Pt. 7: Learn Different Regional Accents
Pt. 8: Eavesdrop on Nature's Orchestra
A Few of Our Favorite Sounds
American Bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus
Herons, Egrets, Bitterns
Varied Thrush
Ixoreus naevius
Thrushes
Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
Hawks and Eagles
Pied-billed Grebe
Podilymbus podiceps
Grebes

More Birding Advice

How to Memorize Bird Songs by Using Mental Images
April 12, 2017 — Part three of our new series to help you build your birding skills鈥攁nd love of birds鈥攂y learning how to bird by ear.
Birding By Ear
What It's Like to Camp Out With 15,000 Sandhill Cranes
April 11, 2017 — An intrepid 糖心传媒 staffer beds down amid one of Earth's greatest migrations.
News
My Father's Life List
April 05, 2017 — What drives a man to count birds, to travel to 75 countries to count them, to spend a fortune counting them, and to keep counting them?
From the Archives
How to Hone Your Bird-Identification Skills on Twitter
April 04, 2017 — Start practicing with these helpful, weekly quizzes, which cover everything from corvids, to hawks, to birdy headdresses.
News
Learn to Tell a Cackling Goose From a Canada Goose
March 30, 2017 — Don鈥檛 let this ID cook your goose. Here are a few tips to help you solve the puzzle.
ID Tips