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Birdsong Mnemonics with Christian Cooper
With practice, birding by ear can feel like a superpower.
© Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren
Birder and author Christian Cooper says learning to identify bird calls feels like unlocking a sixth sense. Birding by ear is a skill that takes time to develop, but you’ll start to recognize patterns with practice. Christian says mnemonics are a great way to remember bird calls. Some birds have well-known mnemonics, like the “Oh sweet Canada Canada Canada” of the White-throated Sparrow. But if those don’t work for you, make up your own!
BirdNote®
Birdsong Mnemonics with Christian Cooper
Written by Ariana Remmel
This is BirdNote.
Birder and author Christian Cooper says listening to birds helped him unlock a kind of superpower.
Christina Cooper: It's very exciting ‘cause it's like you have a sixth sense that most people don't have. You know, I'm walking through a park on my way to the gym. I am not looking or paying attention to birds. Except I am, because I always am! And my ears are telling me, “Oh, the White-throated Sparrows are back” just from hearing their call notes.
[White-throated Sparrows chattering]
Birding by ear is a skill that takes time, but you’ll start to recognize patterns. Christian says mnemonics are a great way to remember bird calls. Some birds have well-known mnemonics like the “Oh sweet canada canada canada” [White-throated Sparrow song] of the White-throated Sparrow and …
Christian Cooper: The flight call of the American Goldfinch: potato chip, potato chip.
[American Goldfinch flight call]
But if those don’t work for you — make up your own!
Christian Cooper: One of the things I really love doing is making the connections, like, I call the Blue Jay “the Rihanna Bird”. Because Rihanna has a song, Shut Up and Drive, where one of the parts of the song is where she goes, “So if you want me, let me know, know, know”. And I hear that, and I'm like, well, that's the same thing a Blue Jay does with its call. It's not just a flat sound, it drops at the end. So it's going, “jay, jay, jay!”
[Blue Jay call and Rihanna song interspersed throughout]
Looking for more tips on how to identify birds by sound? Start at our website, BirdNote.org. I’m Jonese Franklin.
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. White-throated Sparrow ML15586 recorded by Arthur A. Allen. White-throated Sparrow ML169021 recorded by Matthew D. Medler. Blue Jay ML43998451 recorded by Matthew D. Medler. Blue Jay ML20433 recorded by Hugh P. McIsaac. American Goldfinch ML94457 recorded by Will Hershberger.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2025 BirdNote November 2025
Narrator: Jonese Franklin
ID# ChristianC-02-2025-11-20 ChristianC-02
Jonese Franklin
Narrator
Ariana Remmel
WriterSights & Sounds
