Many of these interpretations of bird songs came from
Bird Identification courses, books or recordings. The
following bird calls came from an old Wings Over
Dutchess issue and form The Gnatcatcher’s
April 1989 issue. With migration getting started in
April, this may be a help to our newer members.
Editor's note: Wings Over Dutchess is
our own club newsletter and The
Gnatcatcher is the newsletter of the Naturalists' Club
of Broome County. Some of the mnemonics below have
been slightly modified to indicate syllabic emphasis and
an additional interpretations has been added here and there.
Acadian Flycatcher: Pizza; spit-chee; Wicky-up (abrupt);
Speak (alarm call)
Alder Flycatcher: Fee BEE o
Great Crested Flycatcher: Weep, Weep, Weep; Whip,
whip, whip, whirrr, quit, quit, quit; WHEEP!
Least Flycatcher: CheBeck
Olive-sided Flycatcher: Come right here!; Hip three cheers!;
Quick three beers!; Whoops three beers!
Willow Flycatcher: FITZ-Bew (like a sneeze)
Wood Pewee: Pee-a-wee (high whistle)
Eastern Phoebe: Phee-bee; Phee-blee
American Robin: Cheerily, Cheerily, Cheerily
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: Robin’s “Cheerily” sounds
like a cold
Scarlet Tanager: Chip-chur (very hoarse Robin);
DE-troit!
Baltimore Oriole: Edith, Edith, look here (emphatic)
Indigo Bunting: Fire, fire, here, see it, see it!; Sweet,
sweet, where-here, here, see it, see it!
American Goldfinch: Per-CHIC-ory; Potato chip
(as it flies)
Black-capped Chickadee: Chickadee-dee-dee; pheeee-beee
(longer, sweeter than Phoebe's phee-bee)
Tufted Titmouse: Peter, Peter, Peter
Carolina Wren: Teakettle, Teakettle, Teakettle,
tea (fast). (emphasis on second syllable of "teakettle")
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: See, see, see, Where, where, where,
Look at me, look at me, look at me
Eastern Towhee: Tow-HEE; CheWINK; Drink you tea-dlee
dlee
Eastern Meadowlark: Ju-jit-sue (slurred); Spring O’ the
year, spring is here
Bobolink: Bobolink, Bobolink, spink-a-wink, link-a-jink,
tink-a-bink
Veery: Tureo-reo reo (eerie decending spiral)
Wood Thrush: Come to me, here I am
Brown Thrasher: (Phases in pairs) Hurry up, hurry up,
plow it, plow it, hoe it, hoe it, etc.
Song Sparrow: Madge, Madge, Madge, put on your tea kettle
-ettle - ettle
White-throated Sparrow: Old (or Poor) Sam Peabody,
Peabody, Peabody
Red-eyed Vireo: Here I am...See me...In the treetop;
Look up...way up...treetop...do you see it....I made
it...touch it not
Yellow-throated Vireo: Cherries...sweet cherries...have
some (raspy)
Warbling Vireo: Dilly, dill, dilly, dill, dill; If I
could see one, I would seize one, and would squeeze one
till it squirts (rapid)
White-eyed Vireo: Chick’ty beaver limber
stick (snappy); pick up the BEEEER check!
Warblers:
Black and White: Weezee, weezee, weezee, weezee,
weezee, weezee (like a squeaky wheel)
Blackpoll: Zi - zi - zi - zi - zi (high pitched)
Black-throated Blue: I am la-zy!
Black-throated Green: Zee, zee, zee, zoo zee;
Trees, trees, murmurring trees
Blackburnian: zip, zip, zip, titi, tseeeee; also 2 parts-teetsa,
teetsa, teetsa, zizizizizi
Blue-winged: Bee - buzz
Canada: chip, chipety seee ditchety (staccato, irregular)
Cape May: Seet, seet, seet seet (thin; wheezy)
Cerulean: Zray, zray, zray, zray, zreeeeee (trilled)
Chestnut-sided: Pleased, pleased, pleased to MEET‘cha;
I wish to see Miss BEECHer!
Golden-winged: Bee - buzz, buzz, buzz
Magnolia: Weeta, weeta, weetzie (higher)
Nashville: Seebit, seebit, seebit, seebit, tititititi
(2 parts) - like a Chipping Sparrow
Ovenbird: Teacher, teacher, teacher; tea-CHURR
tea-CHURR tea-CHURR
Parula: climbs scales & trips over top-zeeeeeee up;
zh, zh, zh, zheeee
Prairie: Zee, zee, zee, zee, zee (buzzy up the
scale)
American Redstart: Tsee, tsee, tsee, tsee, tsee-o
Tennessee: tieka, tieka,tieka, tieka; swit, swit, chew,
chew, chew, chew, chew - staccato 2 or 3 parts (louder
than Nashville)
Common Yellowthroat: Witchity, witchity, witchity witch;
Witchity, witchity, witchity witch
Yellow: Sweet, sweet, sweet, I'm so sweet
Yellow-rumped: trill like Junco-rising in pitch, or dropping
at end
Wings
Over Dutchess, April
2003