Call of the Eastern Towhee

Someone once told me that only one bird makes the sound typically associated with birds. The sound I refer to is Tweet! (Remember the cartoon character Tweety Bird?) Well, since then, whenever I hear this sound, which to my ears is more something like Ter-weet!--two syllables sang as one--I know a Eastern Towhee is about.

Earlier this year (April 25 post), I wrote about the Eastern Towhee, at that time discussing its song . . . Drink Your Tea! Of course, birds do more than sing. Like you or me, they often need to "call out" at times to family members. Sometimes this is to say, "Hey, watch out! Someone's coming!" or "Hey, I found some food!" or "Where are you? I'm over here!" So when learning to identify birds, you need to recognize that one species can make many different sounds.

Thus, the male Eastern Towhee will sing "Drink Your Tea!" (in varying renditions) but both male and female will call out to each other, with a crisp, melodic Ter-weet! Tory Peterson describes the call as a loud "chewink," which is how some people might hear it.

Just yesterday morning, I heard the loud Ter-weet! or Chewink! of the Eastern Towhee and trained my binoculars on the bird making this alarm call. What I saw was a female towhee (photograph courtesy of Ken Thomas), much like the bird in this photo. But my towhee clasped a grasshopper in her bill. Even so, she could call her alarm to others that I was approaching!

Till next time . . . happy birding!

Georgia Anne

Water-skipping Swallows

Recently, one early evening, I went outside to discover dozens of swallows—tree and barn—enjoying a rollicking good time water-skipping over my pond. Water-skipping is my term but I think it aptly describes their activity—swooping down to drag their feet, sometimes their stomachs, over the water. Like planes circling the airport, these swallows circled in the sky above my pond, each waiting his or her turn to approach.

You can identify Barn Swallows by their long forked tails. However, the “fork” in the tail of the Tree Swallow (see my June 2 posting) is much more shallow, looking more like a notch.

On seeing the fun, I ran inside to get my hand-held video, which is wonderfully convenient but has no real zoom capacity. Coming outside again, I hurried toward the pond, quietly as possible, to film the action. The swallows, however, took exception to my presence—after all, uninvited, I was a party crasher.

Though it’s difficult to see the swallows in this video (you might need to view it a few times; trace their movement by focusing on the splash sites), you’ll certainly hear their loud twitters of protest at my presence.

By the way, while writing this, I just ducked outside momentarily and guess what? The party is on once again! The swallows are back and it’s time for water-skipping over my pond.

Till next time . . . happy birding!

Georgia Anne

Field Sparrow: By Ear

Since early spring I've been hearing the ever-vocal Field Sparrow. Even as I write this sentence, a Field Sparrow sings in the distance. My house is situated below a large pasture, some 30 acres or more. Likewise within my own property boundaries I've a mix of open and wooded areas, so I hear the Field Sparrow all around me all day long.

No joke. This is one bird that doesn't seem to loose interest in singing. He sings throughout the morning, afternoon, and well into the evening.

I don't have a photograph to share as I could find none available through my usual Public Domain sources. But let me describe him as best I can. The Field Sparrow is certainly not a showy bird. Like many sparrows, he's a small buffy reddish-brown bird with a grayish breast and a reddish cap. Tory Peterson (of Peterson's Field Guides) provided us various ways to organize sparrows into groups--for instance, those that have streaked breasts and those that have clear breasts. Our Field Sparrow belongs in the latter group. You'll also find him in the category of sparrows with reddish caps.

Let me introduce my own new category: sparrow that loves to sing all day long! Listen to the audio of this quick clip. Here you'll hear two males singing--a duet, if you will. First one bird sings, then the other. There's a bit of a lull before the first bird starts to sing and the second, impatient for his turn, chimes in for the finale.

Till next time . . . happy birding!

Georgia Anne

Would you call this bird "Common"?

The Common Yellowthroat is anything but common, or so that's my view. Of course the designation stems not from the bird's appearance, obviously, but from his abundant numbers. Other "common" birds that come to mind are Robins, Blue Jays, Cardinals . . . well, you understand. But most people overlook the "common" Yellowthroat for a few reasons: this bird is small, eats insects and spiders (so you won't find her at a seed feeder), and most people don't recognize the Yellowthroat's song. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.)

If you did recognize the haughty song (witchity, witchity, witchity, witch) or, if you prefer my interpretation ("The witch is here! The witch is here!"), then you'd often hear this very vocal bird.

In fact, you can hear an audio of his song right now if you visit my July 3 posting (right below).

But catching sight of the very handsome male with his black mask and bright yellow chest is harder than you might think. As an insect eater, this bird spends lots of time in shrubs, trees, and other dense vegetation, so unless that's where you're looking, you won't easily spot one. And of course the female is much more muted in color than the male. (When have you heard this before?) Her face is olive (no mask, typically) and coloring paler overall. In fact, I can guarantee that you won't recognize the female Yellowthroat the first time you see one, unless of course, you see her in the company of a male. That might give her away.

Go outside today and try to find a Common Yellowthroat by ear! See just how "common" they are!

Till next time . . . happy birding!

Georgia Anne

Indigo Bunting and Common Yellowthroat

Thus far I've been posting photos of birds but never audio. Well now that I've a small video device, I can capture bird songs and post them here!

As I've mentioned numerous times, you can identify a bird by sight or sound. Sometimes you'll be fortunate enough to do both--see and hear a particular bird. But more often, you'll either see or hear the bird in question.

How handy would it be to recognize a bird by its song? Very handy indeed.

So today I present no photo, only a brief audio with the sound of two separate bird species taking turns singing. The first song you'll hear is that of an Indigo Bunting (check my June 9 posting for a photo). The second belongs to the Common Yellowthroat, a bird I haven't yet discussed but will do so in my next posting. For now, though, I want you to meet the Yellowthroat by song only.

The song of the Yellowthroat is usually described as "witchity, witchity, witchity, witch." However, I have a different interpretation: "The witch is here! The Witch is here!" See which one you hear, if you hear either. Perhaps your ears will translate the song differently.

Remember, song one belongs to the Indigo Bunting. This bird sings sweet notes in duplicate but for me is harder to recognize than the Yellowthroat, who is forever yelling "The witch is here!" whenever I come near. Ha!

So first up: the Indigo Bunting, followed by the Yellowthroat, followed by the Bunting and then they both sing at the same time for the finale!

Enjoy and till next time . . . happy birding!

Georgia Anne