Songbird Songs and Calls You Should Learn First | Black-capped Chickadee and Eastern Phoebe

What is Songbird Songs and Calls You Should Learn First ?

University of New Hampshire Extension Professor Matt Tarr teaches how to identify 62 common New England bird species.

Black-caped Chickadee.
Bblack-capped chickadees occur in a wide range of predominantly forested habitats and habitats with tall saplings. They are also common in residential areas that have mature trees and a well established shrub layer. Black cap chickadees vocalize at a variety of heights from the shrub layer and on up to the canopy. They often sing, perched prominently out at the tip of a sapling or at the end of an exposed branch, and they regularly call while foraging on exposed branches or deep within a tangle of cover.

black-capped chickadees can be identified readily by both their common call and by their song. The most recognizable call of the black cap chickadee can be heard any time of the year. It says the bird's name with a clear chickadee.

Male and female black-capped chickadees make the chickadee call.

The song of the black-capped chickadee, heard mainly in early spring through autumn, is a clear whistle. Phoebe.

The song is made mainly by males, but females do sing occasionally. Here's two different black-capped chickadees singing their sweet whistled Phoebe song. Bird one.

And bird two.

All right. So the song of the black-capped chickadee is an example where mnemonics are the words we use to remember. A bird's vocalization gets a little fun. I've always thought that the song of the black-capped chickadee sounded like the bird was singing Phoebe. However, some of my students say they hear the song as hey sweetie.

My mom, who's also one of my birding students, says she hears the song as he did it.

And I've heard others say, this is the cheeseburger song of the black cap chickadee.

So obviously black-capped chickadees aren't actually seeing any of these things. The point of mnemonics is to help you recognize the specific pattern of a bird's vocalization, so you are more likely to recognize and remember what bird makes that sound when you hear it. Throughout this audio guide, I will teach you the mnemonics that I find to be the most helpful for recognizing and remembering each species.

And I encourage you to make up and use whatever mnemonics work best to help you remember the vocalizations of different birds.

You. Do.

Eastern. Phoebe. The most typical habitats of eastern Phoebes include open woodlands, stream and river bottoms, forest edges, and sunny openings where there are scattered low trees and shrubs that provide them with perches while fly catching in large rock outcrops or bridges for nesting. Eastern phoebes are also common in many rural and suburban areas, where there are sunny openings with scattered low trees and shrubs, and covered ledges such as decks and building eaves for nesting.

Eastern phoebes usually sing perched prominently near the top of tall shrubs, short saplings, dispenses or from exposed branches, overhanging streams, or the edge of ponds. Male eastern phoebes do most of the singing females sing occasionally, but their songs tend to be brief. The song of the Eastern Phoebe is easy to learn and remember. Eastern Phoebes say their name with a raspy Phoebe.

Singing eastern phoebes often alternate between these raspy Phoebe phrases and phrases that sound more like Phoebe.

Here's four different Eastern Phoebe's singing their raspy song. Again, note specifically how each of these birds alternates between the Phoebe phrase and the feebly phrase in its song bird. One.

As.

Bird two.

Bird three.

And bird four.

And.

We'll end this lesson by directly comparing the sweet, whistled song of the black-capped chickadee. To the raspy song of the eastern Phoebe. Again, remember, black-capped chickadee sings a sweet, whistled song that sounds like the bird to sing. Hey, sweetie. He did it.

And compare that to the raspy song of the eastern Phoebe that alternates between the phrases Phoebe and feebly.

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Songbird. Songs and Calls. You Should Learn First is an educational podcast created by Matt Tarr, wildlife biologist, licensed forester, and state wildlife habitat specialist for the University of New Hampshire Extension. Each episode is comprised of lessons from his course audio guide to identifying New England birds by their sounds, which features companion field trips. If you are interested in this course or other wildlife programs, be sure to check out the events at unh.how/nature

This podcast is a production of the University of New Hampshire. The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity educator and employer. UNH, U.S. Department of Agriculture and New Hampshire Counties cooperating direct inquiries to UNHCRcivi [e-mail].