I’m a rocker. While in college in the ’80s, I was a long-haired, head-banging rocker. I’m especially fond of power chords and intricate solos played on a six-string guitar, either electric or acoustic. That’s what I like — I guess I was born that way.
My old rocker ears also enjoy the sounds of nature — whether from a frog, katydid, wind blowing or water flowing — and my favorite nature sounds, by far, are bird vocalizations.
Bird songs and bird calls are not synonymous terms. Their context is quite different. Bird song is complex, often seasonal and usually musical, and it involves advertising for a mate or maintaining a territory. Bird calls, however, are simple and usually not very musical. Chip notes are short calls given to announce food or just to stay in touch, and they’re used more commonly year-round. Within a given species of bird, we believe their songs and calls mean different things as they communicate.
When humans communicate, air passes through a larynx, which creates simple sounds. When birds communicate, air passes through a syrinx or “voice box” and can produce something far sweeter. Guess which one is more specialized at producing a wider range of sounds? No offense to David Lee Roth or Mick Jagger, but it’s the one our feathered friends use.
Some people use bird song ringtones on their cellphones, but that can cause problems. There’s nothing worse than leading a field trip for a group of folks, hearing a bird vocalization and pointing it out to the group, only to hear one of your members exclaim “Hello!” on the phone. Been there, done that. Just like in the movie theaters, nature walks and bird hikes should require the following rule: “Please silence [the bird song ringtones of] your cellphones.”
Like humans, birds have different regional dialects. Someone native to Wisconsin sure doesn’t sound the same as someone native to Georgia. The same can be true with many of our birds. If you want to hear a variety of songs (in addition to those we’re providing), there are several worthy websites, including the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macauley Library and the one we utilized for this article, www.xeno-canto.org. Arranged in random order, let’s “see” my Top Ten Bird Hits and a few others, but be sure to “listen” to them as well.
CLIFF'S TOP 10 BIRDSONGS
Bachman's Sparrow
Recorded by Paul Marvin
Photo © Greg Lasley
One of the sweetest songs and dearest to me, as it’s the representative song of open pine forests that once ranged throughout the eastern third of Texas, where I live. Fire suppression and changes in forest management have just about eliminated this bird from Texas airspace. Along with the whistles of bobwhite quail, this was once a dominant song ringing through longleaf or shortleaf pine savannas thick with a healthy grass-forb layer. The last stronghold of the species in Texas is the longleaf belt that includes the south end of the Angelina National Forest, south of Sam Rayburn Reservoir. To hear a Bachman’s sparrow, visit that national forest from early March through September. This year-round resident is not vocal during fall and winter.
Bell's Vireo
Recorded by Andrew Spencer
Photo © Lee Hoy
This bird lives in thick shrubs and brush in various parts of the state. Its song reminds me of an old man griping and whining about something upsetting. If you’re lucky enough to spot this thicket-loving bird, there’s not much to see, as its colors are subtle and drab. Bell’s vireo makes up for it, though, in a busy, hurried song played on repeat mode. This migrant, which leaves us during the colder months for warmer climates to our south, returns to thickets across various parts of our state with a vengeance, even though it’s quite vulnerable to nest parasitism by cowbirds. This vireo reaches its motherlode in the shrubs along waterways in the Trans-Pecos, especially in the Devils River watershed.
Cassin's Sparrow
Recorded by Chris Harrison
Photo © Rolf Nussbaumer
Two words come to mind when describing this one: bouncy and almost eerie. A challenge for Eddie Van Halen would be to transcribe this one to guitar and perform it. This sparrow is often cyclical due to rainfall and habitat conditions but resides in grassy areas mixed with shrubs. Those shrubs are the birds’ stage from which they sing and, if you’re lucky, do a dance known as “skylarking,” or fluttering skyward while singing. His colors aren’t jazzy, but his showmanship commands attention —you’ll be hoping for an encore. They can pop up almost anywhere, but the Cassin’s sparrow’s roots grow deeper the farther west you go in the Lone Star State.
Yellow-breasted Chat
Recorded by Andrew Spencer
Photo © Tom Vezo
I’m tickled when I hear this one. As the name may suggest, it sounds as if it’s having a chat or conversation with another. Short bursts of varying squeaks, chuckles, squawks or rattles are followed by short pauses as if listening for a response. Listen for this one in the thickest shrubs. If you’re lucky, you’ll see one do his magnificent butterfly-like flight — he puffs up and continues to sing while flying from perch to perch, or straight up in the air as if showing off muscle and song all bundled into one fluffy yellow ball of a great bird. Caution is advised to biologists and landowners charged with surveying birds: This one does a great job mimicking vocalizations of other birds, especially crow caws, bobwhite whistles and pileated woodpecker clucks. They “chat” the most in old fields or regenerating clear-cuts in the eastern part of the state or thickets of scrub and streamside areas out west.
Brown Thrasher
Recorded by Paul Driver
Photo © Alan Murphy / BIA
This bird sings one of my backyard favorite songs. It’s soft, melodic and very pleasant. It’s also soothing on weekends while I’m reading or snoozing on the couch with the windows wide open. Other than splashing around in our birdbath, this bird has severe stage fright, usually retreating to the shrubs except when he sits up, fairly conspicuously, to sing aloud. This mimic is related to our state bird, the northern mockingbird, but the thrasher imitates notes in duplicate and not triplicate like the mockingbird (or in singles like another relative, the gray catbird). Breeding thrashers live and sing in urban areas in the eastern two-thirds of the state.
Canyon Wren
Recorded by Andrew Spencer
Photo © Alan Murphy / BIA
This is a bird of bluffs, cliffs, canyons and rocky outcrops in the western half of our state. You’ll need good luck to see one, but you can’t miss the incredible sounds of its remarkable descending song. Like me, this bird is a rocker! Canyon wrens hop around in search of insects, nest among the rocks and bob up and down while vocalizing from the top. And, like singers in rock bands, they often achieve great echoes while singing away through the canyons. The farthest east I’ve ever heard one is the Barton Creek greenbelt in Austin.
Dickcissel
Recorded by Mike Nelson
Photo © Jan Wegener / BIA
These birds are often heard in grasslands of mostly native grasses and forbs, and many males together sound like a cacophony of high-frequency whistles and chips. Most of these highly migratory birds winter in the llanos (or plains) of Venezuela but return to grassy areas in Texas and much of the Great Plains to settle down and raise a family. As our larger grasslands get converted to other uses and whittled down in size, so die the sounds of so many grass-loving species, from prairie-chickens to several kinds of sparrows. In order to keep the buzzy sounds of dickcissels ringing aloud, conserve and protect the native grasses found on your property.
Bewick's Wren
Recorded by Chris Harrison
Photo © Alan Murphy / BIA
This little wren might be the most versatile and complex songster of the bunch. He reminds me of the late Freddie Mercury, who sang an array of highs and lows for the band Queen. While this wren is fairly drab, his song is absolutely wonderful and the one I miss most when leaving the western half of the state, where this bird can be found in thick vegetation. Be sure to pronounce his name correctly, like the Buick car. Spend some time listening to one as he changes things up after a spell, maybe in order to hold the attention of others. I know it works for me!
Wood Thrush
Recorded by Paul Driver
Photo © Alan Murphy / BIA
If you want to know which bird sits (or sings) at the top of my list, the wood thrush is it. I don’t admit to having one favorite rock singer, but in the Texas bird world this one rises to the absolute apex of sound. In graduate school, I rented a simple house tucked into the woods that, unbeknownst to me, included a singing male who never failed to perform each and every day during the breeding season. It’d almost be dusk in May and June and he’d still belt out those lovely ee-oh-lays that always took my breath away (rhymes like a song, eh?).
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (call notes)
Recorded by Mike Nelson
Photo © Alan Murphy / BIA
Old-timers refer to this one as the “rain crow.” The reasoning behind that colloquial name has swirled around a bit and lost its meaning. While most birds often get very quiet during a rain shower, this dedicated songster often continues to vocalize. Some lore incorrectly states that when the coos of this bird are heard, it is certainly going to rain, so get your umbrella ready. Sorry, this bird didn’t go to meteorological school and cannot predict the weather. This is one of the last species to arrive at its breeding grounds in Texas after overwintering in the tropics. This makes them part of the caboose in the long train of migrating species. Listen for them in mature woodlands, where they’re fond of tent caterpillars.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (song)
Recorded by Mike Nelson
Photo © Alan Murphy / BIA
CLIFF'S HONORABLE MENTIONS
Barred Owl
Recorded by Andrew Spencer
Photo © Larry Ditto
HONORABLE MENTION. A romantic bout of owling from this bird was the soundtrack to one of my first dates with the woman who is now my wife. Who isn’t impressed when a super-charged and excited pair of these owls begins to emit their monkey-like calls?
Audubon's Oriole
Recorded by Peter Boesman
Photo © Alan Murphy / BIA
HONORABLE MENTION. You might think you hear a human whistling away in the South Texas brush, but it might really be this yellow-and-black oriole.
Pileated Woodpecker
Recorded by Todd Wilson
Photo © Rob Curtis
HONORABLE MENTION. How can I leave off the bird that “hooked” me into birding when I was a kid growing up here in Texas? Every time I hear one, I’m forever appreciative of the door into nature that opened up for me.
INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTAR
Montezuma Oropendola
Recorded by Fernand Deroussen
Photo © Bill Batson
Want to know my global favorite bird song, outside of Texas? Without question, it goes to the Montezuma oropendola of Central America. They’re not only great to hear but fun to watch as they vocalize. I’ve heard them in at least three countries, but the species does not range into Texas, so you’ll have to get your passport ready to find one.
NIGHT-TIME SOLOISTS
Eastern Screech Owl
Recorded by LG Price
Photo © Melody Lytle
This bird of the night reminds me of when I lived part of my adult life in Austin. Sleeping with the bedroom windows open during cool winter or spring nights often allowed for pleasant sound bites of this owl. One day, a woman called me and asked if I could tell her what sounded like a “pony in her tree.” I chuckled and, without hesitation, knew precisely what was delivering those “whinny” notes! I’m unsure what early ornithologists were thinking when they named this one, but the modifier “screech” is definitely not applicable. Oak woodlands and oak savannas of the Hill Country is where I’ve heard them most.
Chuck-Will's-Widow
Recorded by Mike Nelson
Photo © Alan Murphy / BIA
No other night bird in Texas is more misidentified than this one, thanks to various literary works that mention the night sounds of the eastern whip-poor-will, a species that only migrates through Texas. Despite what Grandpa taught you, the one you hear in the eastern half of Texas during the hot summer months is the “Chuck” and not a “Whip.” Pleasant when heard farther off, this song is representative of dark skies and denser forests. The bird “says” its name, but don’t expect to hear the first note, the “chuck,” if he’s far away. Often all that registers is the wills widow, wills widow over and over again. Find a remote forested area without many lights in order to get closer so you can hear that sharp first note.
STOP THAT SCREECHING!
Plain Chachalaca
Recorded by Peter Boesman
Photo © Alan Murphy / BIA
While sleeping in a tent at dawn, I found that a group of raucous plain chachalacas is worse than any alarm clock. Great sound, but not while you’re asleep!
Tufted Titmouse
Recorded by Chris Parrish
Photo © Larry Ditto
Trying to conduct a bird survey under a tufted titmouse’s loud Peter, Peter, Peter song is tricky.
Great-tailed Grackle
Recorded by Ted Floyd
Photo © Glen Bartley / BIA
Massive roosts or nesting colonies of great-tailed grackles will fill your ears with some rather cacophonous sounds.
White-winged Dove
Recorded by Chris Harrison
Photo © Melody Lytle
In an urban setting, incessant white-winged dove cooing really drowns out all other sounds.
Northern Mockingbird
Recorded by Andrew Spencer
Photo © Alan Murphy
Turn down the volume, Mr. Northern Mockingbird. Enough said!
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