Birding by Ear
There's a lot to look forward to in spring, including the welcomed hullabaloo of birdsong. The sheer volume of songs and calls can often feel overwhelming for birders, but these sounds offer an opportunity and a challenge. With our birding-by-ear series you can learn how to better ID birds through their vocalizations.
A Few of Our Favorite Sounds
American Bittern
Latin:
Botaurus lentiginosus
Varied Thrush
Latin:
Ixoreus naevius
Red-tailed Hawk
Latin:
Buteo jamaicensis
Pied-billed Grebe
Latin:
Podilymbus podiceps
Tech
Meet Your New Birding-By-Ear Assistant
Amazon's Alexa can now access more than 2,000 birds sounds from the Audubon library—as long as you say the magic words.
More Birding Advice
News
Merlin Is Magical, but It Still Makes Mistakes
August 23, 2023 — As the popularity of the app’s Sound ID feature grows, so do concerns about how imperfect artificial intelligence impacts a trove of scientific data.
Books
Mya-Rose Craig’s Search for Family Amid an Extraordinary Life of World Birding
August 15, 2023 — Birdgirl, a memoir by the 21-year-old birder and activist, is an affecting story of a daughter seeking her parents as they, together, seek birds.
News
How Training Secretive Birds Became a Boon for Tropical Forest Conservation
August 10, 2023 — When a farming family in Ecuador “befriended” an elusive antpitta, they pioneered a new path for ecotourism.
From Audubon Magazine
Why Baseball and Birding Go Together Like Peanuts and Cracker Jacks
July 10, 2023 — America’s pastime presents plenty of opportunities to spot birds, according to sports writer Joe Trezza.
Tech
These Smart Devices Can Identify the Birds Outside Your Window
July 10, 2023 — The Bird Buddy and the Haikubox offer new ways to get excited about birding from home.
In the Field
Learn to Identify Five Owls by Their Calls
These hooters have surprisingly big vocabularies.
Podcast
Is This the Most Beautiful Bird Song on the Planet?
According to famed ornithologist Frank Chapman, it is.
