Identifying bird sounds helps you understand how birds communicate with each other.

Identifying Bird Songs
Bird songs, the most complex combinations of bird sounds, are usually made by males of the species to attract females, to establish a territory and to drive competitors away from that territory. When birds live in an area that is open without many perches, the bird will sing in flight, or sing flight songs, that are sometimes combined with specific flight patterns.

Subsongs are the songs sung by baby birds after they reach about three weeks old. Birds’ subsongs would be the equivalent of human babies babbling. In other words, subsongs are pretty much incoherent. Of course, baby birds’ singing improves over time, as does the singing of human babies.

Chip Notes
Chip notes are birds sounds that are short calls that are used to communicate information about food sources to birds of the same species. In addition, birds use chip notes to keep tabs on each other.

Identifying Bird Sounds and Call Notes
Call notes are bird sounds that birds use in various situations. For example, alarm calls notify others that there is danger in the area while begging calls are used by baby birds to notify their parents that they are hungry. Call notes are typically more complicated that chip notes, but less complicated than songs.

Note that call notes that indicate danger are often understood by different bird species as well as different animals, including human beings.

Nesting Areas
Scientists from Oregon University, Wellesley College, Queen’s University and Trent University conducted a study of migratory black-throated blue warblers covering 54 sites in New Hampshire. Before this study, it was assumed that birds chose nesting sites based on ground coverage and food sources.

After a successful mating season, scientists recorded the bird sounds of birds singing to their young. Scientists then played these recordings in less desirable habitats. The next spring, many of the male warblers went back to the places where they had heard the recordings and stayed, regardless of how the habitat appeared. The females then followed the males. It seems that singing can dictate nesting areas.

While this was a limited study, scientists think that the results may be applicable to other migratory songbirds in addition to warblers. This guide to identifying bird songs will help you on your next bird watching adventure.