Bird song classifiers for birds whose songs I'm still learning in 2024, plus quiz

Bird	Description	Audio
improvised melodic
Garden warbler hm ■■	improvised melodic fast medium (1-5 KHz) . Song: Hard to distinguish from Mönchsgrasmücke/black cap, but they sing much longer and don't end with a typical short melody like the black caps. [Link] 'minutenlang anhaltenden, plaudernden und abwechslungsreichen Gesang' [Link] Song: Sprudelnd, orgelnd, die längsten Strophen aller hiesigen Grasmücken. Mit vielen reinen, volltönenden Tönen. Ohne Überschlag der Mönchsgrasmücke. [Link] Song: a full bodied, flowing, melodious stream of notes, distinguished by its almost constant, warbled quality and lack of clear whistling notes (see Blackcap). Tempo is fairly even. Beware confusion possibility with occasional subsong of Blackcap that never reaches the whistling part! Call a nasal "che". [Link]	♫
stereotype melodic
Dunnock ■■	stereotype melodic fast high (4-8 KHz) . General: High-pitched, repetitive but complex little tune, 3 seconds long with about 15 notes rising and falling, falling at the end, then 3 second pause. Song: Melodisch, slowly rising, roughly like black-cap warbler, which I guessed in the bird-song.ch quiz. [Link] Schnell wie ein Rotkehlchen aber nicht herunter plätschernd, hoch und runter zwischen 3 und 7 kHz. [Link] Song: Singt schon im Vorfrühling. Klangfarbe ähnlich Gartenbaumläufer. Aufbau ähnlich Zaunkönig, aber ohne Triller. Viel leiser und dünner. [Link] Song a fast and evenly paced, high pitched stream of clear notes. No consistent phrasing. Similar in timbre to Robin, but does not vary tempo or pitch nearly as much. Often compared to the sound of a squeaky wheelbarrow. [Link]	♫
simple rhythmic
Marsh tit 1-Noter, Sumpf laenger als Kohl hhmmlll ■■	simple rhythmic fast low-high (2-10 KHz) . General: Higher-pitched than great tit, sometimes repetitive 1- and 2-note tunes like them, sometimes simple melodies, usually pure, sometimes chirpy or raspy. Song: 'Song: A simple one or two note call repeated in series. Usually rising slightly in pitch, and with a "liquid" quality.'. [Link] At bird-song.ch it's hl-rest-hl, or 7-8 2-noter swoops. bird-song.ch names lh-break-hl as a pistjä call and also has a series of 7 or 8 falling 'swoops'. [Link] Song: Klapperlied - 6-8 Noten 'angeschlagen' Klapperlied. Reihe (6-8) weich angeschlagene Töne mittlerer Höhe. Ähnlich der Klappergrasmücke aber weicher. (Sumpf ist weich) Oft auch Rufe wie „psja“ zu hören. Ziemlich scharf u. gepresst. [Link]	♫
Ring ouzel 3 Noten wie Ring-dross-el ■■	simple rhythmic slow medium (1-5 KHz) . BirdID says Song a primitive, plaintive series of short phrases, often with only 1-2 syllables (I heard 2-3 in Amden, sometimes chirpy, sometimes less musical). Song: Habe mit dem Buntspecht verwechselt - Ringdrossel singt 2-3 Noten - hilft das? [Link] Song a primitive, plaintive series of short phrases. Often with only one or two syllables. Interspersed with eerie, higher pitched sounds, reminiscent of Song Thrush. [Link]	♫
stereotype melodic
Eurasian treecreeper Waldwege sind lang ■■	stereotype melodic slow medium (1-5 KHz) . I say: it sounds like a faster higher chaffinch song. Wikipedia says: The male's song begins with srrih, srrih followed in turn by a few twittering notes, a longer descending ripple, and a whistle that falls and then rises. Song: Lang u. klar! (Waldwege sind lang). Tonreihe im Ganzen absinkend, nur letzter Ton höher. [Link] Song a short, continuous three-part phrase. [Link]	♫
White wagtail Plaetschert wie ein Bach ■■	stereotype melodic slow low-high (2-7 KHz) . General: Usually just calls. This song is just a few chirpy slurs, sometimes rising-rising-falling. Song: Zirpt wie ein Sperling aber weniger Noten. Lh lh lh [Link] Song: Song either slow and primitive, consisting of sharp falling notes given by perched birds, or longer fast and energic bursts in excited song-flight. [Link]	♫
Common chaffinch mmmmmmmmLlhH ■■	stereotype melodic slow medium (1-5 KHz) . General: A medium long phrase that slowly descends (I think of it bouncing down a staircase), then usually takes a jump up before a final descent. Song: In Bavaria the mnemonic for the typical chaffinch song is: „Ich hätte gerne ein Weizenbier“, i.e. "I'd like another Weizenbier". [DasHaus] Song: Song a falling 5 sec. phrase "zitt-zitt-chep-chepp-chu-chu-churrurrwitt". Structurally similar to Willow Warbler, but with a conclusive, ascending and accented ending, and with a much harder, finch-like, timbre. [Link]	♫
trill, rasp
European greenfinch h m m ■■	trill, rasp stereotype melodic fast low-high (2-7 KHz) . General: Sequence of 4-6 rhythmic elements at different pitches. A sort of trill is often start or end of the sequence (can also be a call!), and there are slides. Song: Song composed of various sequences of linked sounds, repeated in a vibrating manner; "trrrrrrrrr", "chechechecheche". Sometimes resembles Brambling when making the wheezy "rrrrrrrrr" sound, but differs in being harsher and by "pulling" the pitch downwards (or sometimes upwards) at the end. [Link]	♫
improvised melodic
trill
Eurasian wren ■■	trill improvised melodic fast high (3-9 KHz) . High-pitched, melodic, very variable with many trills and whistles. At least 3 seconds long, switching low to high 6 times or more, always a trill in the mix. Der deutsche Kalendar für 2025 sagt, sie könnten ab Drei-Königs-Tag singen, d.h. ab 6. Januar. nabu.de sagt ab 1. Februar, Drei-Königs-Tag ist eventuell nur wegen dem Namen Zaunkönig? Song: Auffällig laut für den kleinen Vogel. Singt auch im Winter! Schmetternd, mit einem bis zwei Trillern als letztes oder vorletztes Glied. [Link] Song surprisingly loud. A high-pitched stream of clear notes resembling Robin and Dunnock in timbre. Differs from those in showing frequent shifts in pitch with much larger register than Dunnock, and by the unique, numerous, interspersed long trills. [Link]	♫
stereotype melodic
rattle, fluting
European goldfinch Llmh ■■	rattle, fluting stereotype melodic fast low-high (2-7 KHz) . General: Hectic sing-song, quite chaotic in feeding groups. But kept as songbird, so I guess more melodic when singing solo. A bit like a black cap warbler (Mönchsgrasmücke). Gesang hat eine Struktur (und ist langsamer als der Girlitz): Zuerst eine kleine Melodie hoch und runter; dann vielleicht ein Grünfink-Triller, dann 4 wiederholte Noten oder ein neues Melodiechen. (Oder kommen diese Elemente eher zufällig?) Song: Melodie geht meistens 2-3 Sekunden hoch und runter, meistens mit einer wiederholten 1-Noter mit ~6x die gleiche Note. [Link] Song: Name stammt angeblich vom Gesang: ein steigernder sti-ge-litt. My first (multilingual) notes: Stieglitz like Grünfink, fast, high, occasional trills. Occasionally ends a bit with falling note like buchfink Mir wurde erst in St. Moritz in Juli 2021 bewusst wie ähnlich der Stieglitz wie ein Grünfink klingt - beide können lange Gesang mit Trillern und rauhen sinkenden Toenen singen, und ich habe Stieglitz v.a. durch dieses Stöhnen für Grünfink gehalten. Contact-call distinct, and also constitutes a major part of the song. A sharp and explosive "witt", or "tzee-witt". Sometimes given as a single syllable, di- or trisyllabic, or as continuous series. The song is comprised of rapid series of the contact call, interrupted by drawn-out melodic notes and trills. [Link]	♫
sings 5-19 seconds
European serin ■■	sings 5-19 seconds veryFast high (4-10 KHz) . Weird hectic song, and you'll probably hear them but not see them, which is a shame, because they're a colorful yellow bird. The song seems to defy description - described variously as the jingling of a bunch of keys, like crushing glass or the pouring of broken glass (the German Wikipedia refers to a nickname 'Glasscutter'), the sound of a cork twising in a bottle (Thomas Seilnacht on digitalefolien.ch), and one source I can no longer find talked about a ruined cassette tape. A Portuguese web site aptly calls it 'a high-pitched and fast rambled sum of indistinctive elements', and U. Cornell's ebird.org calls it frantically fast, oiseaux-birds.com 'a prolonged, wheezy, chirping', beautyofbirds.com 'a buzzing trill'. Der Gesang des Girlitz ... ist nicht so melodisch wie der des verwandten Kanarienvogels [auch Kanariengirlitz genannt]. Er wurd schon mit 'einem schnell zürückgespulten Kassentenrekorder' verglichen oder als 'hastig quitschend' bezeichnet. [Link] Das Gesangsrepertoire umfasst über 50 komplexe Silben, die in einem sehr schnellen Tempo und einer sehr stereotypen Reihenfolge eigene Lieder bilden. Starke Variationen finden sich im Übergang von einer Tour (zusammenhängenden Abfolge von Silben, also (Teil-)Strophe) in eine andere (Modulation). Das Gesangsrepertoire ist unter den Stieglitzartigen (Carduelinae) einzigartig.[1] Zudem umfasst es eine variable Menge an Silben, die auch im Gesang anderer Vögel verwendet werden. Es konnte bewiesen werden, dass die Komposition des Repertoires geographisch variiert. [Wikipedia setzt sich ernsthaft mit dem Gesang auseinander] Song: Song a hectic, jingling, continuous trill, like the pouring of broken glass. The highest notes are constantly modulated to form vague motifs. Timbre comparable to Corn Bunting. [Link]	♫
stereotype melodic
Eurasian bullfinch ■■	stereotype melodic slow low-high (2-8 KHz) . 3-note long M, pause, HL (somewhat falling)...Gim! Gim-peeel! Sounds a bit like a pirol. Song: Song a quiet, modest mix of contact call and various chirping sounds, with peculiar harmonics. [Link]	♫
simple rhythmic
Stock dove ■■	simple rhythmic slow low (0-1 KHz) . Song: Song a two-syllable, cooing. Much louder and more accentuated first syllable than in Feral Pigeon. First a short ascending "oooh", immediately followed by a short descending "oohh". Tone quite pure, mostly lacking the rolling quality of Feral Pigeon. [Link] Jede Note ein gleitender hlm, klingt wir hu-u-u [Link] Song: „Huuh-hup“ . Das „huuh“ fast zweisilbig, erste Silbe höher, das „hup“ noch höher. Fast wie „Hooh ruck“ [Link] Song a two-syllable, cooing. Much louder and more accentuated first syllable than in Feral Pigeon. First a short ascending "oooh", immediately followed by a short descending "oohh". Tone quite pure, mostly lacking the rolling quality of Feral Pigeon. [Link]	♫
Common swift ■■	simple rhythmic fast high (5-7 KHz) . Song: Sie singen im Flug (eigentlich LEBEN sie im Flug), und wenn du sie nicht siehst, schau weiter hoch, dann noch einmal - sie können mehrere 100m hoch fliegen oft in Gruppen von 3-10. Kappe abziehen wenn nötig! [Link] A shrilling trill "zreeeee" of about 1 -2 seconds length, gradually rising in pitch with accentuated firs half, then falling from the middle of phrase. Often continued with a dry lower pitched "trrrrrr" before calling again. [Link] Call: Often continued with a dry lower pitched "trrrrrr" before calling again. Very vocal at breeding area, and often a flock will call together. Despite being quite similar to Pallid Swift, the call is probably the best field character to separate the two. Pallid puts the stress on the ending of the call, followed by a quick fall in pitch (dynamics like moaning with a quick release). Plain Swift calls similar to Common Swift, but differs in slightly fluctuating pitch during the call, and a loss of resonance towards the ending (thinner sounding). [Link]	♫
stereotype melodic
trill
Common reed bunting mllllm ■■	trill stereotype melodic slow high (3-7 KHz) . General: At Fanel I heard sequences of whistles and trills (buzzes?), just a few notes, but wandering up and down: m h lll, or l m hhh m. Listen to recording of 2022-06-25 13.37.28 Song: Oft 4 Noten: mlhl [Link] BirdID: A short sequence of 3-5 brittle and buzzing sounds, repeated consistently with marked pauses. Last sound in phrase often has a conclusive feel, but not always. [Link] Song: Song variable between individuals and breeding status: A short sequence of 3-5 brittle and buzzing sounds, repeated consistently with marked pauses. Last sound in phrase often has a conclusive feel, but not always. Paired males sing slower than unpaired. Unpaired male song also more contracted, making the pauses between each phrase stand out. [Link]	♫
improvised melodic
Stonechat ■■	improvised melodic fast low-high (2-7 KHz) . Series of short, often squawky little bits, sometimes like a house sparrow, often repeated with only small variation. E.g. MmLMH? Kurzer Gesang, eher steigend 8-19 slurred notes. Or 21 43 2143 [Link] Song: The English name derives from its call, sounding like two stones knocked together. [Link] Gesang ähnlich obiger Art [Braunkehlchen]. Reine und kratzende Laute abwechselnd, wellenförmig [Link] The song is a sweet stream of scratchy notes. Much more even, and less chattering than the Whinchat. Almost like a short and scratchy Dunnock phrase. [Link]	♫
simple rhythmic
Little grebe ■■	simple rhythmic fast medium (1-5 KHz) . Der Gesang ist ein lautes, hohes Trillern. Männchen und Weibchen tragen ihn häufig im Duett vor. [Link] Call: Call; sometimes a single quite clear high pitched "dydlylyyt". More often combined into longer phrases with harsher quality, oscillating like laughter and travelling up and down in pitch in agitated motion. Reminiscent of female Cuckoo. [Link]	♫
stereotype melodic
trill, whoop
Corn bunting ■■	trill, whoop stereotype melodic fast high (4-8 KHz) . General: Song is an ascending trill or buzz that climbs about an octave - 4-8 KHz. Song: Gesang steigend und immer schneller wie .... was? [Link] Song: Sieht für mich eher braun aus als der Grau im Namen, mit einem Finken-Schnabel und Striche oben auf der Brust wie ein Drossel [Link] Song diagnostic. A brittle, jingling and accelerating phrase of about 2 seconds duration. [Link]	♫
sings 30 seconds or longer
mimicry, weird
Marsh warbler ■■	mimicry, weird sings 30 seconds or longer fast medium (1-5 KHz) . Weird, squeaky, urgent, more variable than reed warbler, with imitations of European and African birds. Song: Der Virtuose unter den Rohrsängern! Meisterhafter Imitator anderer Vogelstimmen. Viele wirbelnde und zwirlende Laute, wenig schnarrende. Variable Tempi. [Link] Song extremely varied and full of mimicry of both European and African species. Up to 75 species imitated by the same bird. Phrases often repeated 2-4 times, and different phrases may overlap. Nevertheless, clearly defined phrases with marked pauses. Sometimes more flowing streams of notes, but less so than Icterine Warbler. Most similar to Icterine and Blyth's Reed Warbler. Softer timbre than Icterine, and not so loud. [Link]	♫
weird
Eurasian reed warbler ■■	weird sings 30 seconds or longer fast medium (1-5 KHz) . Weird, squeaky, urgent. Slower than Sumpfrohrsaenger. Song: Gleichmässiges Tempo! Man kann den Takt schlagen dazu.(Metronomsänger) Oft 2-3x wiederholte kurze Motive. Viele schnarrende Töne. [Link] By far easiest to identify by song: Characteristic, almost metric and even rhythm, very different from Sedge Warbler. Squeaky timbre with many, almost bizarre, harmonics. Phrases generally repeated 2-3 times. [Link]	♫
mimicry
Sedge warbler ■■	mimicry sings 30 seconds or longer slow medium (1-5 KHz) . Constant stream of equally spaced sounds. vogelwarte.ch has a sample that churrs and trills, similar rhythm to reed warbler / Teichrohrsänger, so maybe that's what it was. Listening on YouTube videos, you'd call it percussion rather than song! Song: Gesang sehr ähnlich dem Teichrohrsänger. Aber nicht so im Takt. Bevorzugte Tongebilde werden mehrmals wiederholt. Des öftern Singflug über dem Schilf. [Link] Song vigorous and varied. [Link]	♫
rasp
Great reed warbler ■■	rasp sings 30 seconds or longer slow medium (1-5 KHz) . General: Sounds to me like croak cheep cheep! Listening on YouTube videos, you'd call it percussion rather than song! Song: In Vergleich zu Teichrohrsänger langsamer und lauter. [Link] Song: Gesang ähnlich Teichrohrsänger, aber viel lauter, Tonhöhenunterschiede 2-3 Oktaven. Karre-Kit-Sänger.. Sehr taktmässig. [Link] Song similar to Reed Warbler in timbre, but much deeper and slower. [Link]	♫

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