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posted May 14th, 2012; last edited May 14th, 2012 –– David Sibley Part 5 of my introduction to learning bird songs is now up (click here). Many of the words that we use to describe the quality of a bird song also carry information about pitch and tempo. For example, only sounds in a certain pitch range can be described as whistled, and we tend to [...] posted May 11th, 2012; last edited May 11th, 2012 –– David Sibley Part 4 of my introduction to learning bird songs is now up (click here). In the narrowest sense, the quality of a bird’s voice would refer strictly to the tonal quality of the sound. Musicians call this “timbre”, and it allows us to distinguish a trumpet from a violin from a flute, even when [...] posted May 8th, 2012; last edited May 8th, 2012 –– David Sibley Part 3 of my introduction to learning bird songs is now up (click here). In this discussion, tempo refers to the overall “pace” of the song, the number of notes or phrases per second. We describe this as fast or slow, and over the course of the whole song the tempo can be steady [...] posted May 4th, 2012; last edited May 4th, 2012 –– David Sibley Pitch is simply our perception of the frequency (or wavelength) of a sound, which we describe as high to low. Birds’ range of hearing is similar to our own, and bird song covers the full range to the limits of human hearing, from the lowest hooting sounds of Great Gray Owl or Spruce Grouse to [...] posted April 29th, 2012; last edited April 29th, 2012 –– David Sibley I recorded this sound (with my iPhone, please excuse the poor quality) on 29 April 2012 near my house in Concord, MA. Have a listen and see what you think. For a little additional background information, which will also give you a hint, read the footnote below.1 Click this link to listen to [...] posted July 1st, 2011; last edited July 1st, 2011 –– David Sibley I’ve been aware of some variation in songs of Blackpoll Warbler for many years, and now an interesting post by Andrew Spencer at Earbirding prompted me to check into it a little more closely. Many years ago Will Russell pointed out to me that the birds nesting in Alaska all sang a more rapid series [...] posted June 24th, 2011; last edited June 24th, 2011 –– David Sibley 23 Jun 2011 – Concord, MA Sitting at my desk today I was roused by a bird call that I did not immediately recognize. This is a very rare occurrence for me, especially at my house where I spend many hours every day, and I know the birds that are here very well. As the [...] posted April 7th, 2011; last edited April 26th, 2011 –– David Sibley Swainson's Warbler, an uncommon and elusive species often subject to playback efforts by birders. Gouache painting copyright David Sibley. With the recent surge in the availability of digital audio devices, the use of playback to attract birds into view has increased exponentially. This has fueled an ongoing debate among birders about the ethical issues [...] posted April 5th, 2011; last edited April 20th, 2011 –– David Sibley American Robin in run-on song bout that began with an imitation of Eastern Kingbird. Normal singing posture is more relaxed and upright. Pencil sketch copyright David Sibley. On 5 April 2011 in Concord Massachusetts I was walking the edge of a field where I often go birding, and heard very distinctly the sputtering call [...] posted October 5th, 2010; last edited October 5th, 2010 –– David Sibley If you’ve followed any of the discussions about identifying Red Crossbill call types, you may have given up on taking an active role in crossbill study, thinking that it would require thousands of dollars worth of recording equipment and computer software. Well, that is simply wrong. Most people can enter the field and start identifying [...] |
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