Tweeting and chirping of Moray's garden birds
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Families and novice birdwatchers have been advised on how to recognise the songs of 12 common British birds.
Outdoors experts from BillyOh.com have revealed how birds' songs differ and what to listen out for, including chaffinches, robins and starlings.
Most wildlife enthusiasts can will be able to pick out the tweeting and chirping of birds from the noises of other animals, but being able to distinguish difference species’ melodies can enhance your enjoyment of your garden or the countryside.
Unlike contact calls that are generally harsh and loud warnings and often more similar between species, birds usually break in to song to attract mates or mark their territory and can be more complex in their composition.
The best time to hear singing birds is typically early in the morning or as the evening draws in, with enthusiasts also able to teach themselves examples via many recordings available online.
A spokesperson for BillyOh.com said: “There are few things more quintessentially British that enjoying the song of garden birds at dusk or dawn, but many of us will struggle to tell the difference between the range of common visiting species.
“You wouldn’t listen to a popular song on the radio without knowing the singer and a great outdoor tune should be no different, so we’ve released guidance to make telling the difference between some typically heard birds a little easier.”
Here are the top tips for recognising 12 common UK bird’s songs:
- Chaffinch: The song of a chaffinch is typically short and fast, with a series of descending notes or the repetition of a single one insistently. The best time to hear it is after the worst of the winter weather has passed.
- Robin: Wistful, warbling Robins often repeat a series of ‘tic’ like sounds in quick succession and can most often be heard around dusk and even into the night in well-lit towns and cities, throughout the year.
- Wren: The volume and consistency of phrases if often a giveaway for picking out a Wren’s song, which often finishes with a typical rattle that almost sounds mechanical.
- Wood-Pigeon: Common Wood-Pigeon’s songs usually consist of five notes. The first three are ascending, with the middle one longer than the other, and then the fourth and fifth descend back to the initial note, before repeating.
- Collared Dove: The Collared Dove follows a similar pattern when singing, but using only three notes on repeat – think of a word like ‘united’, with the middle syllable strung out.
- Blackbird: Usually clearest during longer evening in the spring and summer, a Blackbird’s smooth song is recognisable by its relaxed tempo and brief pauses.
- Song Thrush: Quickly repeating a short series of high-pitched notes several times can mark out the Song Thrush and you can hear it best at dawn from January onwards.
8. Great Tit: A Great Tit’s song is quite precisely repetitive and very clear – the sound resembles the word ‘teacher’, with a slight pause between the syllables, and is best heard as spring arrives.
9. House Sparrow: A distinctive, single note or two are repeated by the delicate House Sparrow, often with increasing speed. The sound is typically somewhere between a light ‘tweet’ and an almost ‘argh’ scream.
10. Blue Tit: The Blue Tit typical burst of song is easily recognisable, with a couple of sharp, loud, high-pitched notes followed by a few quieter, quicker and deeper descending ones.
11. Goldfinch: A light and twittery song with a varying tempo and pitch often marks out a Goldfinch, though not until the height of spring.
12. Starling: A Common Starling will typically vary between squeaky murmuring, chattering and rattling, but it’s one of the hardest birds to identify by song as they can mimic lots of other species.
