Bird Sound Mnemonics

Front 1

American Robin

Back 1

Cheer-up, cheerily, cheer-up, cheerily, cheer-up, cheer-up. Alarm call sounds like scared mouse sayinging help.

Front 2

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Back 2

High steady warble, usually weak and fading at end. Like two tone siren.

Front 3

Brewer's Blackbird

Back 3

Simple faint gurgle, then buzzy squeal. What the hell.

Front 4

Red-winged Blackbird

Back 4

konk-a-REEE

also single tone squeaky metal gate sound

Front 5

Song Sparrow

Back 5

Spring spring spring sneeze season

Front 6

White-crowned sparrow

Back 6

Don't feed jimmy no cheese

Front 7

California Towhee

Back 7

Accelerating series of metallic notes often ending in a chatter.

Front 8

Wrentit

Back 8

Accelerating series of poping whistled, like a bouncing ball.

Front 9

Oak Titmouse

Back 9

Short simple phrases repeated every 3 seconds or so. Loud two note sound is typical.

Front 10

Golden-crowned sparrow

Back 10

Oooh dear me.

Three or four pure toned whistles.

Front 11

Acorn Woodpecker

Back 11

Ra-aa kaa or just ra-aa

Front 12

Mourning Dove

Back 12

whoo-AA-whoo, who who

Front 13

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Back 13

who-whoo-hu

Front 14

Rock Pigeon

Back 14

Soft, stuttered cooing

Front 15

California Quail

Back 15

Chi-ca-go, Chi-ca-go.

Also short rising ra-aa.

Front 16

Red-tailed Hawk

Back 16

kee-aaaaaaar

Front 17

Black Phoebe

Back 17

p-sseew (Hey you))

Like a rubber mouse.

Front 18

Bushtit

Back 18

Busy chatter of husky or spitting notes, varied in pitch.

Front 19

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Back 19

Squeaky rattle. Sometimes like a soft and briefly blown whistle.

Front 20

Spotted Towhee

Back 20

Drink drink teeeea.

Starting notes often missing on pacific coast.

Front 21

Steller's Jay

Back 21

Single or slow series of drawn-out husky notes. Also a staccato series of shorter notes, like a slow machine gun. • (Hawk imitation) Hawk imitations can be remarkably good, but are often weaker or abbreviated and incorporated into other vocalizations.

Front 22

Dark-eyed Junco

Back 22

Steady, long, even-paced trill. Variable speed.

Like ray gun.

Front 23

Western Scrub-Jay

Back 23

Harsh, drawn-out, distinctly rising notes. Also a quick series of shorter, less rising notes. Coastal birds (Pacific) more grating; Interior birds (Woodhouse's) smoother. All calls higher than Steller's Jay.

Front 24

Red-shouldered Hawk

Back 24

Measured series of descending screams; kee-er kee-er kee-er kee-er kee-er.

Front 25

White-throated Sparrow

Back 25

imple, pure-toned whistles with slight wavering quality; variable pattern of lower and higher notes. Oh sweet Canada-Canada-Canada

Front 26

Sora

Back 26

Male advertising call a rising kor-EE, sometimes repeated monotonously. Alarm call is a sharp, squeaky keep or short complaining whistle.

Territorial whinny is an explosive rising and falling series of whistled notes

Front 27

Greater Yellowlegs

Back 27

Contact call is a loud, three- to four-note dee-dee deer (last note typically dropping in pitch); louder and more strident than Lesser Yellowlegs.

Front 28

Lesser Yellowlegs

Back 28

Contact call is a mellow, whistled tu or tu-tu.

Front 29

Long-billed Dowitcher

Back 29

Contact call is a sharp whistled peep, given singly or in a quick series; distinctly higher-pitched than Short-billed.

Song is similar to Short-billed but slightly higher and buzzier, and with last element more descending; dddd-dree-drr; usually preceeded by a gurgled twittering.

Front 30

Short-billed Dowitcher

Back 30

Contact call is a low, quick, two- to four-note kyu-tu-tu.

Song is a scratchy, three-parted gurgling dddd-dree-drroy, repeated; usually preceeded by a few whistled teedle-ee phrases recalling Lesser Yellowlegs.

Front 31

Great-horned Owl

Back 31

Low, booming series; female higher than male, often with more of a tremolo quality or extra notes. Who-who-are-you, who, who?

(Call)Variable; similar to Barn Owl but usually more nasal and wavering, less emphatic. Mostly given by begging juveniles.

Front 32

Tree Swallow

Back 32

Song is short, repeated phrases including high chipping cheer-up calls, bubbly trills, and whistled tew-ee calls. Calls include similar notes, as well as a high, scratchy tzeev.

Front 33

Violet-green Swallow

Back 33

Lower, harder than Tree Swallow; may recall Red Crossbill calls.

Front 34

White-breasted Nuthatch

Back 34

4 or 5 pulse muted tone call

Front 35

Lesser Goldfinch

Back 35

Varied chattering jumble of harsh and pure-toned notes; frequently includes plaintive whistles and imitations. Slower than Pine Siskin.

Front 36

Red-shouldered Hawk

Back 36

Measured series of descending screams; kee-er kee-er kee-er kee-er kee-er.

Front 37

Pacific Slope Flycatcher

Back 37

Song has three widely separated notes. First one is rising, then second or two pause, then single note, then 3 to 5 second pause, then single tone.

Front 38

Orange-crowned Warbler

Back 38

Hard, rapid notes, usually fading and dropping at end; thinner, faster than Chipping Sparrow. Pacific Coast birds average faster than other populations.

Front 39

Savannah Sparrow

Back 39

Delicate three-part song featuring three or four very high introductory notes, a slightly musical buzzy trill, and a lower buzzy ending. Sit sit sit it's breeeee-zy. Always has a little pause at end then 1 or two notes.

Front 40

Canyon Wren

Back 40

Loud, distinctive, cascading series of whistled notes, ending in a few soft buzzes

Front 41

Bewick's Wren

Back 41

Mix of buzzes and musical trills recalling Song Sparrow but more delicate, often with an inhale-exhale rhythm; usually buzzier than Black-throated Sparrow. Listen for thin, rising, buzzy notes. Also has a pe-wik call that I confuse with Oak Titmouse.