Notes
Bird songs consist of one or more notes. These notes might be repeated multiple times or be one part of a more complex chain of notes.
Pitch
Pitch refers to the octave of the bird song. The white-winged dove and the great-horned owl exemplify low-pitch calls, while the American robin demonstrates a high-pitched call.
Rhythm
Learn to recognize the tempo, or speed, of a song. Some birds sing a very slow song, while others send their messages in quick succession.
Timbre
Two birds singing the same notes with the same pitch sound quite different. A trained ear can recognize these sometimes subtle differences in much the same way an audiophile might distinguish between a trumpet and trombone playing the same notes.
Mnemonics
Many birders create phrases that sound like the bird song to aid in remembering and recognizing the song.
Identification
A spectrogram is a pictorial representation of a bird song, allowing pitch, repetition and rhythm to be identified and analyzed.
Article Written By David Chandler
David Chandler has been a freelance writer since 2006 whose work has appeared in various print and online publications. A former reconnaissance Marine, he is an active hiker, diver, kayaker, sailor and angler. He has traveled extensively and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida where he was educated in international studies and microbiology.
