Birding 101: Songs and Calls

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Birding 101: Songs and Calls
Written by Ariana Remmel

This is BirdNote.

Birds make all kinds of sounds — from squawks to chirps to warbles — and they can have different meanings. When you’re first starting to bird by ear, it can be helpful to learn the difference between songs and calls.

Birds produce songs to establish territory, attract a mate, and fend off rivals. They’re more frequently performed by males during the breeding season. But many species sing year round, and some female birds sing, too!

For example, male and female Northern Cardinals produce a song with clear whistles:

         [Northern Cardinal (female)]

Songs can also be dry and mechanical like this Chipping Sparrow’s:

         [Chipping Sparrow]

Or jumbled and metallic like this Great-tailed Grackle’s:

         [Great-tailed Grackle]

For everything else they need to say, birds use calls.

Contact calls help birds stick together while foraging or traveling. This American Goldfinch makes a flight call to let the flock know he’s still with the group!

         [American Goldfinch “potato chip” call]

When there’s danger nearby, Black-capped Chickadees make a distinctive alarm call. In fact, chickadee alarm calls are understood by dozens of other species — including birds and birders!

         [Black-capped Chickadee alarm calls]

For BirdNote, I’m Jonese Franklin.

Support comes from Wild Delight Bird Food, offering a variety of blends designed to mimic the natural resources wild birds crave. Available at Chewy.com.

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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. Northern Cardinal ML221179231, Chipping Sparrow ML534466, and American Goldfinch ML94457 recorded by Wil Hershberger. Great-tailed Grackle ML213743 recorded by Bob McGuire. Black-capped Chickadee ML54840711 recorded by Jay McGowan.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2026 BirdNote May 2026
Narrator: Jonese Franklin

ID# sounds-35-2026-05-05    sounds-35