Bird call classifiers for Zürcher Oberland forests and at the Luppmen, plus quiz

Bird	Description	Audio
two notes
Great tit ■■	two notes fast low-high (1-7 KHz) . Chuck-a-chuck-a-chuck, sometimes preceded by higher 'wheat!' Call: Generally more full-bodied and resonant calls than blue tit, and not so high-pitched. Characteristic Chaffinch-like "tink tink tink" often uttered by male. [Link]	♫
simple rhythmic
Eurasian blue tit ■■	simple rhythmic slow high (3-9 KHz) . Low-high-high, with lightly raspy start, rather high. Call: Scolding alarm call: "tee-tee-tee-chirruwitt" similar to Great Tit. [Link]	♫
one note
swoop
Marsh tit ■■	swoop one note slow high (6-9 KHz) . Falling note, relatively long, sometimes repeated - like the pee below without the choo? Call: Most typical call an explosive, sneeze-like "pee-choo", starting high-pitched and ending on a lower note. Error loading Flash for sound! See sound file . [Link]	♫
Dunnock ■■	swoop one note fast high (5-7 KHz) . Swooping staccato call 0.5 seconds long heard near Lendikon. Repeated irregularly after 1-3.5 seconds. Call: Hohe „zi“ „tsi“. Auf dem Zug „zieht“. Etwas absinkend.. [Link] Contact call a dry, thick trill "trrr", and a short King Fisher-like, high-pitched "zeep". [Link]	♫
sputter/pebble-clatter
European robin ■■	sputter/pebble-clatter one note slow high (4-9 KHz) . Personal: A single note usually repeated twice. Somewhat sputtery. BirdID refers to 'a thin, electric "tick". In one source said to be used as alarm call. Call: A variety of calls is also made at any time of year, including a ticking note indicating anxiety or mild alarm. [Link] Call: Alarm call a thin, electric "tick", often in series with decelerating tempo. [Link]	♫
Eurasian wren ■■	sputter/pebble-clatter one note slow high (3-8 KHz) . Sputtery/drippy/trilly repeated notes at 3-8 KHz. June 2022 heard check calls that were distinctly irregularly in their rhythm. Call: „zerr“ (z-und rr-gleichzeitig) auch durchdringendes „tzr“(Gezetter) [Link] Warning call a short hard "teck", like banging two rocks together. Often repeated in series when excited to form machine-gun-like "firing". [Link]	♫
whoop, sputter/pebble-clatter
Black redstart ■■	whoop, sputter/pebble-clatter one note slow medium (4-5 KHz) . - alarm call. XC560014 matches exactly what BirdID describes: 'Alarm call is a chat-like alternation between short, high-pitched "wit" sounds, and series of hard and dry "teck".' The high-pitched call I heard recently was between 5 and 6 KHz, which could help to distinguish between other birds with a deeper voice. The whooping call is sometimes listed as an alarm call. Call: „hüid-tze“ das tze deutlich tiefer. [Link] Alarm call is a chat-like alternation between short, high-pitched "wit" sounds, and series of hard and dry "teck". [Link]	♫
Song thrush ■■	one note slow high (7-10 KHz) . - contact call. One or two high chirps followed by long pause of 1-2 seconds Call: Rufe :“zipp“, oft beim abfliegen. [Link] Most heard (but easily overlooked) contact call is a dry and very short "zip", sometimes given as a two syllable call "zip-ip". [Link]	♫
non-musical
rattle
Mistle thrush ■■	rattle non-musical fast low-high (2-9 KHz) . General: I mistook this one for a woodpecker the first time I heard it, partly because BirdNet also did! Rattle generated in vocal tract, not with the beak! Call: Rufe:schnarrend „kerr“, daneben „tück-tück-tück“ [Link] Other calls; a dry rattle, likened to the sound of a piece of wood drawn over a coarse comb, and a Fieldfare-like "chuck". [Link]	♫
Redwing ■■	- song. No details but a Xeno-Canto recording. Call: Contact call a thin, drawn and sharp "sreee". Often heard at night during migration. Alarm call harder, dryer and more raucous than other thrushes. [Link]	♫
one note
whoop
Common chiffchaff ■■	whoop one note slow medium (2-4 KHz) . Repeated rising note, not too loud Call: Rufe :einsilbiges „hüid“, hinaufgezogen, wandelbar. [Link] Contact/alarm call a soft, plaintive ascending "hooeet". Similar to W.Warbler, but shorter with a monosyllabic feel. [Link]	♫
Willow warbler ■■	whoop one note slow medium (2-4 KHz) . - contact call. Whoop very similar to chiffchaff, etc. but starts at an even level, then ascends. Call: ähnlich oben, aber mehr zweisilbig [Link] Contact/alarm call a soft, plaintive ascending "hoo-eet". Similar to Chiff-chaff, but first part more drawn, giving it a disyllabic feel. [Link]	♫
sputter/pebble-clatter
Black cap warbler ■■	sputter/pebble-clatter one note slow high (3-9 KHz) . General: Sputtery/stoney, but may have other calls too. Call: The Blackcap may generate a perplexing variety of territorial calls, though the typical contact call is a hard, tongue-clicking "teck teck" which has a scolding quality to it. It's not dissimilar to the 'pebble-clacking' call of the Stonechat. [Suffex Wildlife Trust] Call: „täck“ oft wiederholt [Link] Alarm call a hard "check", similar to Lesser White-throat. Sometimes with an additional hoarse and nasal "cherrrr". [Link]	♫
Goldcrest ■■	- song. No details but a Xeno-Canto recording. - but really OWN Call: 'sisisi' [Link] Contact call a very high pitched "zit zit zit", only similar to Firecrest and treecreepers. Treecreepers usually calls with longer "zzzziiiiit" repeated at regular intervals, while Goldcrest calls in phrases with two to four calls in series in an uneven rhythm. Firecrest contact calls lower pitched than Goldcrest, and in a softer tone (but quite similar). [Link]	♫
Common firecrest ■■	- song. No details but a Xeno-Canto recording. Call: „sisisi“ [Link] Call: a thin "tsi tsi tsi" similar to Goldcrest, but not so sharp. [Link]	♫
one note
irregularly rhythmic
Spotted flycatcher ■■	irregularly rhythmic one note 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]	♫
European nuthatch twit ■■	one note fast low (2-3 KHz) . A long fast sequence of notes - is it the 'twit' call mentioned above? Call: Other: It gives loud calls when excited, an abrupt ‘twit”, only one, or in slow series, but often in phrases of 3-4 notes in rapid succession. But in great excitement, it utters phrases of about ten notes per second! We can also hear some shrill “sirrrr”, becoming harsher in alarm call. The contact call is a thin “tsit” uttered before to take off. [Link] The Eurasian nuthatch calls frequently, usually with a loud, sharp dwip normally repeated twice, sometimes more often if excited. It has a shrill sirrrr or tsi-si-si alarm call, and a thin tsit pre-flight call. [Link] Other: Very varied voice. Ranging from very high pitched whistles and melodic resonant calls, to chattering and nasal mocking sounds. Characteristic warning call a hard "check" or "chwit", often in rapid series, like a pebble bouncing on hollow ice. [Link] Ranging from very high pitched whistles and melodic resonant calls, to chattering and nasal mocking sounds. Characteristic warning call a hard "check" or "chwit", often in rapid series, like a pebble bouncing on hollow ice. [Link]	♫
Short-toed treecreeper ■■	one note slow high (5-7 KHz) . General: See the sonogram how the song may descend rapidly from 7Khz to and then climb from 5 to 5.75 KHz, a kind of reversed checkmark. However I find it hard to distinguish from a single note. I'm not a bird ;-( Call: calls with a loud (Wikipedia says shrill) “tyt tyt” [Link] Call: scharf „tiit, sri“ [Link] Contact call very similar to C. familiaris. A thin "sreee" often repeated in an even rhythm, perhaps with slighly shorter pauses. Flight call a short and sharp "wit" used freely when moving about. Timbre recalls wet rubber-boots on vinyl flooring. Note that "mixed singers" of C. familiaris are not uncommon in areas where both species of treecreepers occur. [Link]	♫
Eurasian treecreeper ■■	one note slow high (7-9 KHz) . General: Wikipedia says: The contact call is a very quiet, thin and high-pitched sit, but the most distinctive call is a penetrating tsree, with a vibrato quality, sometimes repeated as a series of notes. Fairly regularly spaced single tseep at 7-9KHz. Call: Contact call a drawn, high-pitched "tzreeee". Similar to Goldcrest in timbre, but of longer duration with a vibrating and slightly rolling tone. Generally repeated in evenly paced, slow series (unlike Goldcrest). [Link] Call: weniger scharf, „srih,“ weniger eindringlich als oben [Link] Contact call a drawn, high-pitched "tzreeee". Similar to Goldcrest in timbre, but of longer duration with a vibrating and slightly rolling tone. Generally repeated in evenly paced, slow series (unlike Goldcrest). Each phrase starts with a few contact call-like notes followed by a Willow Warbler-like descending part, which then jumps to a few descending high notes to form a marked conclusion. Note that "mixed singers" are not uncommon in areas where both species of treecreepers occur. [Link]	♫
simple rhythmic
Long-tailed tit ■■	simple rhythmic slow high (7-9 KHz) . - contact call. Die fast ständig geäusserten, hohen Rufe verraten die kleinen, rastlosen Turner im Gezweig meist schon, bevor sie zu sehen sind. [Link] Call: Call: quite short, chirping, twittering "tzzirrret tzirrrret". Often starting at high pitch and rapidly falling, or just flat. Also a thin, slightly falling "zi zi ziii". [Link]	♫
one note
rasp
Eurasian jay ■■	rasp one note slow medium (1-5 KHz) . Typically harsh jay call. I would say a contact call usually means 'Here I am', answered by 'Good, here I am.' Listening to two jays in the Swiss mountains of Toggenburg, it sounded like 'HEY IDIOT, HERE I AM...WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?' 'WHAT? YOU HAVEN'T FIGURED IT OUT? OF COURSE I'M OVER HERE. PEABRAIN.' On the other hand, anthropomorphism is always dangerous, usually completely wrong approach. Call: Most heard call a short, drawn and very hoarse, raspy sound, often given in quick successions. Also a Buzzard-like, mewing "peeeaaa" (more drawn and less full tone than Siberian Jay). [Link]	♫
whoop
Common chaffinch ■■	whoop one note slow medium (3-5 KHz) . - rain call. General: Repeated ascending note, faster than the long starling whoops, about 2/seconds - 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]	♫
Common starling ■■	whoop one note slow medium (1-6 KHz) . I hear this occasionally and really enjoy it - a long rising 'whoop', as I call it', starting low at 1 1/2 KHz and rising to 6 1/2 KHz! Call: Other calls; a harsh "chaee" and a short sharp "tink". [Link]	♫

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