Birds that mostly call

Decision table for identifying calls
Bird Description Audio
one note

Common kingfisher ■■
one note slow high (5-7 KHz) . Common kingfisher call from Xeno-Canto, similar to one from NABU app. Fairly high pitched single chirps or occasional high-low pairs.
Call: Wikipedia says 'The common kingfisher has no song. The flight call is a short, sharp whistle chee repeated two or three times. Anxious birds emit a harsh, shrit-it-it and nestlings call for food with a churring noise.' The NABU app only has calls, which seems to confirm this. Therefore I'm classifying all recordings as calls, even though some say Song at Xeno-Canto. [Link]
Most heard is the thin and penetrating contact call: A short "tzee", or disyllabic "tzee-tzu", with a ringing metallic quality. In excitement it is often alternated with ringing trills "tzeerrrrrrrrrr". [Link]

swoop

Western yellow wagtail ■■
swoop one note slow high (3-9 KHz) . General: Single note repeated
Song: sperling ähnliches lh lh lh. Dachte die wären melodisch?? Nein. BL chirpy ml ml [Link]
Call: Contact call characteristic and widely used; a sharp, drawn out "pseeeoo" with an accented ending falling in pitch. A variable phrase with two or three notes resembling the contact call in timbre. [Link]


Black woodpecker ■■
one note slow low-high (1-8 KHz) . General: A loud unearthly call on a single unwavering note.
Call: Drumming:
Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file


Flight call a characteristic resonant trill "krrreekrrreekrrreekrrree". A characteristic short, sharp and plaintive "keeaaa" with descending pitch often uttered when excited. A few slower drawn-out introductory calls before the phrase gets going is diagnostic.
[Link]

simple rhythmic

Eurasian green woodpecker ■■
simple rhythmic slow high (3-9 KHz) . Hysterical laughter. 7-8 loud urgent slightly falling notes, reminding me of George of the Jungle's dooky dooky bird for some reason.
Call: Short "kek" calls when excited and in flight. Drumming of 1.5 seconds duration with decelerating tempo, but not often heard. Another call is similar to Black Woodpecker; a series of resonant "klit-klit-klit-klit-klit-klit", but is less clear, has a more determined start and has less obvious rising pitch at the end of each syllable. [Link]

one note

Great spotted woodpecker ■■
one note slow low-high (1-8 KHz) . General: A chirping (that I couldn't associate in my mind with a woodpecker), repeated at somewhat irregular intervals of about a second
2023: klang in bird-song.ch Quiz wie eine lauter Haussperling
Call: Nabu: Der häufigste Ruf ist ein kurzes und spitzes „kix“. Ist ein Buntspecht aufgebracht, etwa durch einen Artgenossen, kann man ein schnelles Schnarren hören. [Link]
Call: Typically it lasts 0.5 seconds, sometimes slightly longer. Contact call frequently hear throughout the year. A short hiccup "kek", sometimes in series. When excited this may escalate into a trill. [Link]

stereotype melodic

Spotted flycatcher ■■
stereotype melodic slow high (4-7 KHz) . General: To me something between a one-note and an extremely simple melody, namely med-med chk-hi-med-med, with a very irregular speed, not at all like a metronome.
Call: Most calls high pitched with a buzzing, "electric" timbre. [Link]
Call: The discreet calls often goes unnoticed. Most calls high pitched with a buzzing, "electric" timbre. Alarm call a sharp, drawn "tzreeeee-check", with the second syllable abruptly clipping the sound. [Link]

Practice


Answer Western yellow wagtail

Answer Spotted flycatcher XC656714 - Spotted Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata - Sounds similar to what I know.

Answer Great spotted woodpecker Great spotted woodpecker call

Answer Eurasian curlew

Answer Common kingfisher Call from Xeno-Canto

Answer Eurasian green woodpecker

Answer Long-tailed tit Flight call from XenoCanto

Answer Black woodpecker Blood curdling call Source as noted in xeno-canto: Recordist Bodo Sonnenburg 2021-10-11 07:26 Latitude 52.2333 Longitude 13.8365 Location Oder-Spree (near Storkow (Mark)), Brandenburg Country Germany Elevation 40 m

Answer Common chaffinch Rain call from XenoCanto Recorded by Paul Driver in Mundford, Norfolk, UK

Birds with insufficient information about songs/calls

Bird Description Audio

Eurasian tree sparrow ■■
Call: Distinct, high-pitched and explosive contact-call; "che-witt" typically given in flight. Second syllable rising rapidly in pitch. [Link]
simple rhythmic

Long-tailed tit ■■
simple rhythmic slow high (3-9 KHz) . - flight callDie fast ständig geäusserten, hohen Rufe verraten die kleinen, rastlosen Turner im Gezweig meist schon, bevor sie zu sehen sind. [Link]

Eurasian curlew ■■
simple rhythmic slow low (1-3 KHz) . - flight callDas Männchen steigt mit einzelnen, klangvollen Rufen auf, die vor der Landung in einen weithin hörbaren Triller übergehen. [Link]
one note
whoop

Common chaffinch ■■
whoop one note slow medium (3-5 KHz) . - rain callGeneral: Repeated ascending note, faster than the long starling whoops, but compare with the black redstart. There are many different calls, the Marler book describes the 'chink' call as functioning as a mobbing and separation call. At XenoCanto I find calls described as "ping", "pik" (same thing?), "pchew", "duit", "huit", "ti-huit".
Call: Der sogenannte Regenruf der Männchen, „schrrüt“, der selbst in benachbarten Ortsteilen deutlich variieren kann, erklingt nur während der Brutzeit. Als Regenruf wird er bezeichnet, weil er kurz vor oder sogar während des Regens zu hören ist, wenn die anderen Vögel verstummen. [DasHaus]