Chipping Sparrow. original gouache painting copyright David Sibley.
The simple trilled songs of species like Chipping Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco offer some of the most difficult, and most common, identification challenges in bird song. There is simply very little information that we can glean from the songs to help us identify the singer. Each species sings a rapid series of very short phrases on a steady pitch, with almost nonexistent pauses between each phrase, and in our brain the sound runs together to form a continuous trill.
Birds can hear a lot “faster” than we can, however, and consequently can extract a lot more information from the very rapid series of notes. The differences are there, and a Chipping Sparrow does not get confused by the songs of Pine Warblers or Dark-eyed Juncos. The key for the birder trying to identify these songs is to practice hearing the finer details. In most cases we can’t really hear the details of the individual notes, but we can hear the resulting “gestalt” differences in the overall tonal quality of the sound.
Listen for those differences in quality, as well as upslurs and downslurs, the overall length of the song, changes in volume, and differences between songs within a singing bout.
Chipping Sparrow
The trill of Chipping Sparrow is nearly twice as long as that of any other species, and this is a consistent and very useful clue. In addition, the overall quality of the sound is usually mechanical and rattling, due to the complexity of each individual phrase.
Pine Warbler
This recording includes two different song types alternating from one individual bird. The first song is slow, the second fast. This alternating pattern is common in Pine Warbler and is a good identification clue, as the other species sing only one song type and do not alternate.
The songs of Pine Warbler have the most gentle and musical-sounding overall quality of the group. This is a result of relatively simple whistled phrases, with less dramatic changes in pitch and less complexity. In the slower song here a clear upslur can be heard, as the ending of each phrase is distinctly higher-pitched than the beginning. No other species in this group commonly uses phrases that sound upslurred (Chipping Sparrow is just too fast and noisy to hear the pitch change), and that, combined with the musical whistled quality of the song, will allow you to identify most Pine Warblers with confidence.
Dark-eyed Junco
These recordings are of two different song types from one individual bird. Each male has a repertoire of several different song types, but usually sings each one at least twenty times before switching to another, never alternating song types as Pine Warbler often does.
The songs of juncos are often described as “loose” and “jingling”. They lack the relentlessly mechanical sound of the Chipping Sparrow. The relatively slow overall tempo and narrow range of pitch produces a more musical sound, but the complexity of each phrase does lend a mechanical element, which leads to the overall description of the song as a “musical rattle” and gives it its jingling quality.
Compared to Pine Warbler notice that each phrase is descending in pitch. Listen to these recordings and compare to the Pine Warber above to practice hearing the difference in inflection. In addition, because of the very strong and clear notes incorporated into each phrase by the junco (especially in the slower song) the junco has a sharp “k” sound to the notes, as opposed to the softer “p” sounds of the Pine Warbler.
Worm-eating Warbler
The song increases in volume, starting softly and “swelling” to a much louder and stronger sound, unlike any of the other species in this group. This is a fast trill, with a very sharp staccato quality to the notes because each one covers a wide range of pitch, downslurred then upslurred, in a very short time. The quality of the notes is high and sibilant (almost hissing), not rattling or jingling. The combination of sharp staccato quality and swelling volume is distinctive.
For comparison, a Pine Warbler is singing in the background, first heard at 0:13 seconds
There is no getting around the fact that these four species have very similar songs, and require a keen ear and a lot of care to identify. But by focusing on the differences described above, you should be able to identify most of the trilled songs you hear, and with practice your confidence will steadily increase.
Hi Dave,
Having heard at one time or another all the above birds, I agree the best way to learn them is to listen to the actual bird singing in the wild to hear the finer points, such as speed, sound quality, volume changes, etc. Of course it doesn’t hurt if you hear more than one species at the same time and can compare the two!
Hi David,
I would include Swamp Sparrow in this group of trillers. To my ears it sound similar to some of the Dark-eyed Junco songs. It is also one that birders often forget because of its reclusive nature.
Habitat is also important in helping separate these species.
Cheers,
Jim
Hi David,
Excellent blog. That post was very helpful! Can you create a post on western trillers?
Good birding,
Wesley Greentree,
Campbell River, BC
When I teach a late April bird song class at the Holden Arboretum in NE Ohio, we can have Chipping Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Pine Warblers all in the same area outside the visitor center! Later on, the Juncos will only be down in the hemlock ravines where they nest, but for a couple of weeks during migration they are all singing together. What a challenge! I really like your detailed analysis of the Pine Warbler – thank you.
David, your series on learning bird song is terrific and I have been sharing it on the facebook page I administer “Natural Sound Recording Workshop Alumni – Lab of Ornithology”. Feel free to visit and post as well. Best, Laura
I heard a short musical trill last week, and something in the song, perhaps the musical quality, told me it was a Pine Warbler and not a Chipping Sparrow. It responded to my iPod Pine Warbler call and I had a great view of this male Pine Warbler singing from an open perch just 15 feet from me. However, I returned to the same spot a week later, and again heard a pretty musical trill, only to find that this time it was a Chipping Sparrow! Other Chipping Sparrows in the same region were producing much more rapid and metallic trills. So the variation in “musicality”, and also in total length of the trill, by different Chipping Sparrows makes it difficult (for me) to be sure what I am hearing–and both of these birds live in similar habitat including conifers and some forest edges. There is nothing like actually seeing the singing bird to identify it with certainty!
Hi Nicholas, Yes, it is difficult, and there are individual birds that don’t “follow the rules”. Seeing the bird is always the best way to identify these trills, but as you gain experience I think you will find that your ID by sound is more and more accurate, just because you are making more subtle distinctions in the songs.
Recently I’ve been hearing a very interesting call, so I decided to search the web to try and find something, but haven’t been able to find the call. While I was looking through this section I heard the call 3 second into the Worm-Eating Warbler call, in the background. Could you identify that call for me? Thank you.
I hear an Ovenbird singing at the 3 second mark there. Typically they sing two-syllabled phrases “Teacher Teacher …” but lots of them sing a simpler “Teach Teach Teach…”. The very strong and forceful quality (it sounds like a loud song), steady rhythm, and slight increase in volume are key points.
Thank you for this super informative post David!
I am curious if there is any variation in what level in the canopy these birds generally sing? I hear a trill song from what sounds like 25-30 feet up in the trees and am wondering if each of these birds generally perch that high.
Hi Alex, Thanks, I’m glad this was helpful. There isn;t any difference in the height of song perches in these species. Habitat can be helpful as a suggestive clue, especially in breeding season when they are more particular about the habitat, but there is still some overlap.