Finches Singing Over the Sidewalk

BirdNote^®

Finches Singing Over the Sidewalk

Written by Conor Gearin

This is BirdNote. 

The songs of two common finches provide a steady soundtrack in cities across North America. There’s the House Finch:

    [House Finch song]

And the American Goldfinch:

    [American Goldfinch song]

While they can sound similar, a couple of key features help set them apart. House Finches sing sweetly but often have a sharp, buzzy note near the end — listen:

    [House Finch song]

American Goldfinches improvise the order of their songs, which can make them confusing to ID at first. But the songs have a few things in common. Goldfinches sing rapidly, often repeating a note several times:

    [American Goldfinch song]

And while not part of the song, a singing American Goldfinch might make the species’ signature call, which sounds a bit like someone saying “potato chip!”

    [American Goldfinch calls]

So one more time, here’s a House Finch – more melodic, and with a buzzy note near the end:

    [House Finch song]

And here’s an American Goldfinch, saying “potato chip” and repeating notes:

    [American Goldfinch call and song]

Listen for these birds singing over the sidewalk from spring to the end of summer.

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

###

Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. House Finch ML22938 recorded by William R. Fish, American Goldfinch ML111054 recorded by Thomas G. Sander, and American Goldfinch ML226408541 recorded by Wil Hershberger.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote September 2023
Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# finch-01-2023-09-18    finch-01