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Bird Song Mnemonics
A mnemonic is a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering. Here are some to help in remembering bird songs of the birds in Stanley Park.
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Song Mnemonic |
|---|---|---|
| Blackbird, Red-Winged | Agelaius phoeniceus | conk-a-reeeeeeeee |
| Bushtit | Psaltriparus minimus | lisp, tsit (multiple, very high-pitched) |
| Chickadee, Black-Capped | Poecile atricapillus | chk-a-dee-dee-dee, fee-bee |
| Chickadee, Chestnut-Backed | Poecile rufescens | Like black-capped chickadee, but cuter, higher pitched, squeaky |
| Cowbird, Brown-Headed | Molothrus ater | bubble-bubble-zeeee! (high-pitched), like red-winged blackbird |
| Creeper, Brown | Certhia americana | here I here I here I am (high-pitched) |
| Crossbill, Red | Loxia curvirostra | High-pitched, finchy |
| Finch, Purple | Carpodacus purpureus | Warbling - varied phrases, fast, lively, brief |
| Flicker, Northern | Colaptes auratus | kleeeyer wik-wik-wik… (high-pitched) cleeer |
| Flycatcher, Hammond's | Empidonax hammondii | Slow, 2-3 sharp short notes look…here I…..am |
| Flycatcher, Olive-Sided | Contopus cooperi | Quick three-beers |
| Flycatcher, Pacific-Slope | Empidonax difficilis | Come here whistle and look…here I…..am, but lower than Hammond's flycatcher |
| Flycatcher, Willow | Empidonax traillii | fitz-bew (burry) |
| Goldfinch, American | Carduelis tristis | pa-chip-chip-chip po-ta-to-chip (and dip (in flight)) |
| Grosbeak, Black-Headed | Pheucticus melanocephalus | American robin-like, but more musical and notes are all over the range |
| Grosbeak, Evening | Coccothraustes vespertinus | chirp or chiirrrp (burry) |
| Hawk, Cooper's | Accipiter cooperii | kek-kek-kek-kek-kek... (more flat and even than pileated woodpecker) |
| Hummingbird, Rufous | Selasphorus rufus | zee-chuppity-chuppity (buzzy) |
| Jay, Steller's | Cyanocitta stelleri | shook-shook-shook-shook-shook... (rapid fire) shaaaaack (drawn-out, grating) |
| Junco, Dark-Eyed | Junco hyemalis | dit (repeated occasionally) chipping trill (musical, tinkling) all same pitch/frequency |
| Kinglet, Golden-Crowned | Regulus satrapa | see-see-see-... (super high-pitched) |
| Kinglet, Ruby-Crowned | Regulus calendula | Like bushtit but sharper, fainter, very elaborate and high-pitched song |
| Nuthatch, Red-Breasted | Sitta canadensis | Tin horn nasel mew, wicka wicka is very slow |
| Pewee, Western Wood | Contopus sordidulus | peeer (burry), like red-tailed hawk |
| Redstart, American | Setophaga ruticilla | tzee-tzee-tzee-tzeeeo buzzy at ending, like Wilson's warbler |
| Robin, American | Turdus migratorius | cheer-up, cheer-a-lee, cheer-ee-o, whinny |
| Siskin, Pine | Carduelis pinus | zreeeeeee! (buzzy) upwards |
| Sparrow, Chipping | Spizella passerina | Chipping trill (mechanical, dry, rapid), like dark-eyed junco but higher |
| Sparrow, Fox | Passerella iliaca | Described as the richest and most melodious of all the sparrows; is a halting, low, rich warble |
| Sparrow, Golden-Crowned | Zonotrichia atricapilla | Oh my dear me! |
| Sparrow, Lincoln's | Melospiza lincolnii | rapid bubbling song like song sparrow but first two notes are high-low not high-high |
| Sparrow, Song | Melospiza melodia | Maids-maids-maids-put-on-your-tea-kettle-ettle-ettle |
| Sparrow, White-Crowned | Zonotrichia leucophrys | more, more, more cheezies, please |
| Swallow, Barn | Hirundo rustica | sleepy sleepy sleepy |
| Swallow, Tree | Tachycineta bicolor | sharp cheet notes cheety cheeety cheety cheeet cheeet cheeet |
| Tanager, Western | Piranga ludoviciana | like robin/grosbeak but notes repeated and faster |
| Thrush, Hermit | Catharus guttatus | like Swainson's thrush but notes start at different ranges |
| Thrush, Swainson's | Catharus ustulatus | clear, high-pitched, rises in a spiral |
| Thrush, Varied | Ixoreus naevius | chyup, spooky song |
| Towhee, Spotted | Pipilo maculatus | buzzy trill chee-ee |
| Vireo, Red-Eyed | Vireo olivaceus | short deliberate notes, all different |
| Vireo, Warbling | Vireo gilvus | warbly warbly warbly warbly woo |
| Warbler, Black-Throated Grey | Dendroica nigrescens | chubby chubby chubby chubby chubby cheeks |
| Warbler, MacGillivray's | Oporornis tolmiei | Tree tree tree sweet sweet |
| Warbler, Orange-Crowned | Vermivora celata | highest pitch, trill up or down, like Wilson's warbler but not increasingly rapid |
| Warbler, Townsend's | Dendroica townsendi | sweet, sweet, sweeeeeeet, tree tree |
| Warbler, Wilson's | Wilsonia pusilla | chee-chee-chee, chet-chet-chet-chet… increasingly rapid |
| Warbler, Yellow | Dendroica petechia | sweet, sweet, sweet, little-more-sweet |
| Warbler, Yellow-Rumped | Dendroica coronata | like car turning over, slowest warble |
| Waxwing, Cedar | Bombycilla cedrorum | (high-pitched, rapid) always in flocks zeee-zeee-zeee... (high-pitched, trilled) |
| Woodpecker, Downy | Picoides pubescens | whinny downslurred, pik (flat) more rapid than hairy woodpecker |
| Woodpecker, Hairy | Picoides villosus | even whinny peeeek (sharply, somewhat nasally) less rapid than downy woodpecker |
| Woodpecker, Pileated | Dryocopus pileatus | kik-kik-kik-kik-kik... (rate and pitch rise then fall) |
| Wren, Bewick's | Thryomanes bewickii | Like song sparrow, but thinner, more rapid; ends like marsh wren |
| Wren, Winter | Troglodytes troglodytes | varied, complicated, bubbly and busy |
| Yellowthroat, Common | Geothlypis trichas | witchety-witchety-witchety... (slow) |
