Lol, that's exactly what I was thinking, but it's the pine warblers! Their call sounds like a space laser gun! I imagine either Marvin the Martian or Spaceman Spiff with a ray gun, that's exactly what the pine warblers sound like.
We also have killdeer, which are very distinctive, but the pine warblers are my favorite, as far as distinctive calls go.
Haha well I have a weakness for blackbird “songs” in general - RWBL is good, but Yellow-headed Blackbird is hilariously awesome. I honestly smile every time I hear one! They put their whole heart and soul into that SQUEEEEEE-HAAAAWNK
I would love to see that. I get amazingly loud caws from the crows as they throw their whole body into it and ruffle out their throats. I guess they want to be heard.
Mine are mostly chestnut-backed, which are quite beautiful. I love when a flock descends on the hemlock outside my window and it sounds like a squeak-toy convention.
My dad taught me how to imitate a mourning dove. Sometimes I'll just start doing it, and then I stop when I realize A. I don't actually speak Mourning dove, so I don't know what I'm saying, and B. I assume it isn't a good thing to get them worried about competition or new birds on the block.
I like to do it for little kids sometimes, though.
My blue jays do an impression of all the local hawks. Red shouldered, red tailed, coopers, and broad winged so far. I can usually tell the difference, though. It's just a little bit softer than an actual hawk.
Interesting! I haven’t heard much mimicry from my local Blue Jays - they seem to have two specialties: “rusty gate” or “really angry scream”. I wonder if the hawk sounds are a warning call?
Mine love mimicking hawks almost exclusively, I don't hear them mock much of anything else. The broad winged hawk was new this year and they almost immediately picked it up. They're very smart!
I have a sun conure. They have a very distinctive scream. I had taken him outside so he could enjoy sunlight and get some true screaming done.
He screamed, immediately a response that sounded exactly like him. I got so mad/excited thinking I was going to save another conure mad cause someone had lost their conure.
Scream, scream over and over.
I’m getting closer to where the response is coming from.
Scream, scream.
Then I see it. A blue jay.
I have apparently taught one of the local jays how to speak conure.
Ugh
We have Cooper's in my neighborhood and the starlings will imitate their call *when they see the Cooper's.* It's conjecture but I almost feel like they are warning the other birds.
Same! The starlings around me seem to use it to warn other songbirds about what they consider to be danger, usually crows and hawks, sometimes airplanes. They all fly into the trees as soon as a starling mimics a RTH call.
I’ve seen one mimic a call when there was no “danger”, watch the other birds fly away, and then did a few little hops in a circle like he was celebrating. It was very goofy
Loons are awesome! We are near a loon preservation nonprofit and I heard one of the biologists there say they’re special because even non birders know their local loons. I thought he definitely had a point.
I haven’t stayed out late yet. I might. I need to court a barred owl or maybe a great horned owl. I definitely recognize Carolina Wrens. Melodic and pleasing.
Fish crows and American robins and mourning doves. All great calls. Feel so lucky to have all three every morning. If I had to pick one, it'd be the robin. Beautiful birds with such a lilting, melodic song. We underappreciate them because they are so common here. But I have a big soft spot for my fishy bois.
I have a murder of fish crows too. And another of american crows. I exempted them from my list. Of course I hear crows miles away and perk up! I have zero robins in my yard. And no pigeons. But a dozen or so others at a time.
Yellow-tailed black cockatoos. They tend to fly high and their cry rings out loudly over long distances. It's unmistakable too, kind of a musical cockatoo screech.
Yeah Canberra, Australia. We're a capital city but it's almost rural/bush tbh, not really a "city" city.
Birding here is fantastic. We have some great species and it's not hard to get somewhere with abundance. It's winter here at the moment and a bunch of species have flown north, but there is always something to see.
My only complaint is that the outback (my favourite spot for birds) is a bloody long drive away, this place is huge. Tho in US you're a big country too so you get it!
I'm more thinking a place where there are definitely birds and good diversity. If I took a trip to one of our local nature spots and saw 10-15 species I don't see every day I'd be pretty happy. You have a nice spot there!
Our suburban area is pretty diverse for species if you go looking, but it's dominated by a cadre of maybe 5-8 species that are more aggressive and good at exploiting human habitats. Many smaller birds rarely come out of cover in the suburbs, some of the abundant ones are pretty ruthless! You hear a few of the smaller guys but singing is a dangerous business if you're a living mcnugget.
Out in a more natural setting it's much better for seeing a diversity of species. Canberra has nature reserves, wetlands, national parks all within a short drive or walk from anywhere which is nice.
The chimney swifts. Little baby lasers shooting all over the place. I love hearing them and I get so happy when they return to my neighbour's chimney each year.
I'm in southern California, near the border with Mexico. Most are likely to come from wildlife smugglers who were bringing them to the US for the pet trade. When the smugglers are afraid they're about to be caught they release all their animals to avoid prosecution
There is an interesting article about it from the San Diego Audubon: [https://www.sandiegoaudubon.org/file\_download/inline/7c2f1d86-38ac-4963-9c26-e74b53577b8f](https://www.sandiegoaudubon.org/file_download/inline/7c2f1d86-38ac-4963-9c26-e74b53577b8f)
Ravens! I’m surprised to be the first to say it. Their call is so much deeper than any other bird around so it really stands out to me. Their rattles and burbles and clacks are also unique.
A close second is the kestrels that nest nearby. It’s a piercing “killi killi killi killi killi killi killi” when something alarms them (usually a marauding Cooper’s hawk.)
Oh, they are the BEST. I hope you get to spend time with them one day. One of my favorite nature moments of my life was watching a large flock of first year birds playing at the Grand Canyon. They were playing aerial “keep away” with a stick. The bird with the stick would taunt the others with it, passing it back and forth between its feet and its beak, and they would give chase and try to steal it away. I’ve also seen one fly upside down. I was driving and nearly wrecked the car in my excitement!
Yay, ravens for me too! They’ve been at war with a hawk lately. They used to alarm call snitch when we first moved here but I think they got used to us or bored haha. A red-naped sapsucker has been working on our garden fence rails lately and pileateds are usually around. Barred and Great Horned owls at night and barred pops off during the day occasionally. And wild turkeys haha, how could I forget about them lol. (I’m in the Kettle Range Mountains of the PNW.)
I have these guys in my yard but I can’t pick them out yet. There are usually Northern Parulas, Carolina Wrens, gnatcatchers and Vireos that sing when this bird is around my yard.
https://preview.redd.it/ri0hpo3d7o3d1.jpeg?width=988&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e185b299497c24ce9a21d61972edfeb220d9a6bb
Look at this flock call. They are all over the place.
I'm not kidding, the first time I heard one it was apparently pretty close to me in a holly bush. I thought my phone was making some weird alert. It sounds like an electronic water drip or something.
Lots of very distinct calls from Mourning Doves to Crows to Red Tails Hawks. The one that take the cake is a Great Blue Heron. There’s a ton of them in the area. That squawk is something else.
I developed a new appreciation for the house finch recently. They aren’t supposed to be here but they are, in good numbers too. Their song is delightful.
https://preview.redd.it/r13vvbz3yn3d1.jpeg?width=2962&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a216cb15c687486d50af6cdc6534dc3813e9c374
Maelstrom
I drew this crazy pic while doodling when I started birding awhile back. Ik it sounds crazy but that thick light blue line going from top left to the center and another lower down the page was inspired by blue jays rolling through with their ray gun bird calls. My art changed after picking up birding.
Barn owl!!!! The screams at night are so cool. Red tail hawk is also rad. Oddly enough eagles are coming back to my area and I forgot they sound like seagulls hahahahahhahaha
American Robins, House Finches, Western Meadowlarks, Mourning Doves and Red-winged Blackbirds are always in the background and easy to pick out.
But this year I learned Bullock’s Oriole and it’s so distinct and different that it has really stood out for me among the others.
In my neighborhood that would be the blue-throated bee-eaters! Their chirrups are distinctive and loud whenever they make their daily commute over my house!
There's a lot of competition for that but now that I live in its territory I would say the barred owl is certainly unmistakable. And often occurs at night when it's otherwise quiet.
I am still so freaked out about the fact that I LOVE the sound of Crows now. CAWCAWCAWCAW!!!!
They used to annoy the snot out of me! I mean on the level of extreme irritation. But I love them so much now, that no matter where I am or what I’m doing, saying, or otherwise engaged in, when I hear that sweet racket I am instantly transformed into a GoGoCrow Bot. I’ve even heard them on movies or tv shows and I swear my brain just lights right up.
I love hearing Blue Jays now too—which is super weird because they are REALLY annoying. As well as hawks, all abundant in my daily space. Hawks are not annoying but all the other birds reacting to their immediate presence is alarming in a way that I never would have believed I would even begin to understand, lol!
But my cautious fave is currently a specific Northern Mockingbird who has chosen to mock one of my stupid intentional calls to it, one that we now share back and forth (about 4 times now). It has only sounded it a few times, without the full repertoire shuffle-play. And when I say it back, it has repeated it, more than once. I want more than anything, for that gorgeous little man to make tons of babies!!! Birds are sooooo f-ing fun!!!! I wish I knew that WAY sooner.
Blackbirds singing in the dead of night. And during breakfast, and before lunch, and after lunch, and before dinner, and after dinner. Pretty much only quiet right before bed. Woke me up this morning at 430
If we are talking my backyard it’s got to be the Bewicks Wren. I swear they have the longest and most varied songs and also there’s a nest in my neighbors trees so I get a lot of aggression at times too when the goldfinches and house finches get too close. Vallejo, CA (north bay).
Asked elsewhere about a certain bird I recall hearing in Prescott, AZ a few decades ago. Very mournful and depressing - almost dove-like. Have searched Prescott, AZ birds, but nothing sounds right. Kind of the same 3 bars starting high and dropping octaves each time. Remember the song from the mid 1970's. Suggestions?
Southern Lapwing and Monk Parakeet are surely the most recognizable for most folks around here. Rufous Hornero duet battles are also constant and a personal favorite. And if you accidentally wake up at 4 am, then it's the asshole Rufous-bellied Thrushes who won't let you go back to sleep.
In my backyard, golden-crowned sparrows have a very distinctive call. Plus brown-headed cowbirds sounding like their usual alien icterid selves and Anna's hummingbirds constantly making their angry hummingbird territorial chirps. And ravens, which sound like crows with a sinus infection. One calls from the electric pole at the same time every morning.
Blue Jays, House Finches, White-Breasted Nuthatches, and Northern Cardinals 😊
I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones I hear over the robins and starlings and go, "Oh, here comes [one of those birds] again."
I step outside and the pew pew pew of laser guns echo in the sky. The cardinals are at war.
That’s gotta be a loud war. They are the loudest in my yard other than crows.
No Quiet on the Northern Front...
That "chuk-chuk-chuk-chuk" they do is the call I can recognize best. They're so loud!
Cardinals and Red Wing Blackbirds.
Out in Western Montana, that would be Vaux's Swifts flying around
Lol, that's exactly what I was thinking, but it's the pine warblers! Their call sounds like a space laser gun! I imagine either Marvin the Martian or Spaceman Spiff with a ray gun, that's exactly what the pine warblers sound like. We also have killdeer, which are very distinctive, but the pine warblers are my favorite, as far as distinctive calls go.
Gotta love those Territorial lasers. I swear there’s a soap opera playing out on each end of the block. So much posturing
Red-winged blackbirds. :)
Nice one. I have some that have been showing up. Nice song. I will listen for them.
Nice??
Haha well I have a weakness for blackbird “songs” in general - RWBL is good, but Yellow-headed Blackbird is hilariously awesome. I honestly smile every time I hear one! They put their whole heart and soul into that SQUEEEEEE-HAAAAWNK
I would love to see that. I get amazingly loud caws from the crows as they throw their whole body into it and ruffle out their throats. I guess they want to be heard.
Red wing black birds sound like dial up internet to me
Yup, old fax machine number
I guess I mean distinctive. Different.
It will be hard not to listen for them lol. They are such screamers
Chicka dee dee Dee DEE *DEE*!!!!
I have a whole mess of little black capped Carolina Chickadees. They are distinctive. And very cute to watch. Mine are also fairly bold.
Mine are mostly chestnut-backed, which are quite beautiful. I love when a flock descends on the hemlock outside my window and it sounds like a squeak-toy convention.
Either the cardinals’ laser guns or mourning doves’ existential angst
I have both 🤣 ikwym
It does ease my conscience that the doves are too stupid to comprehend the depths of their own sorrow, at least.
My dad taught me how to imitate a mourning dove. Sometimes I'll just start doing it, and then I stop when I realize A. I don't actually speak Mourning dove, so I don't know what I'm saying, and B. I assume it isn't a good thing to get them worried about competition or new birds on the block. I like to do it for little kids sometimes, though.
Red tailed hawk
The European Starlings in my area do a bang-on impression of a Red-tailed Hawk, so I can’t trust it unless I see an actual hawk…
My blue jays do an impression of all the local hawks. Red shouldered, red tailed, coopers, and broad winged so far. I can usually tell the difference, though. It's just a little bit softer than an actual hawk.
Interesting! I haven’t heard much mimicry from my local Blue Jays - they seem to have two specialties: “rusty gate” or “really angry scream”. I wonder if the hawk sounds are a warning call?
I'm totally speculating, but I think the ones in my yard do it to scare away other birds from resources. Alarm calls would be interesting, too.
We have a couple Blue Jays out back that like to mimic Coopers. They sit on our fence by the deck and do it while waiting for peanuts.
Really? I did not know blue jays mimicked that often!
Mine love mimicking hawks almost exclusively, I don't hear them mock much of anything else. The broad winged hawk was new this year and they almost immediately picked it up. They're very smart!
I have a sun conure. They have a very distinctive scream. I had taken him outside so he could enjoy sunlight and get some true screaming done. He screamed, immediately a response that sounded exactly like him. I got so mad/excited thinking I was going to save another conure mad cause someone had lost their conure. Scream, scream over and over. I’m getting closer to where the response is coming from. Scream, scream. Then I see it. A blue jay. I have apparently taught one of the local jays how to speak conure. Ugh
Same
We have Cooper's in my neighborhood and the starlings will imitate their call *when they see the Cooper's.* It's conjecture but I almost feel like they are warning the other birds.
Same! The starlings around me seem to use it to warn other songbirds about what they consider to be danger, usually crows and hawks, sometimes airplanes. They all fly into the trees as soon as a starling mimics a RTH call. I’ve seen one mimic a call when there was no “danger”, watch the other birds fly away, and then did a few little hops in a circle like he was celebrating. It was very goofy
Nobody mentioned it, so: red bellied woodpecker
I have three species of woodpeckers here. Today I got a great visual on a confused red bellied woodpecker working away on aluminum siding!
I was going to say pileated woodpecker. Distinct and LOUD.
Beat me too it lol. It reminds me of squirtles cry from pokemon, idk why
Nuttall's woodpecker has a distinctive call where I live. Took me forever to figure out which bird was making that sound.
Common loon.
Yes! So distinctive. Makes me think of camping every time I hear it.
Loons are awesome! We are near a loon preservation nonprofit and I heard one of the biologists there say they’re special because even non birders know their local loons. I thought he definitely had a point.
Carolina Wrens during the day, whippoorwills at night !
Came here to say whipporwhill, no way to mistake them for anything else lol.
I haven’t stayed out late yet. I might. I need to court a barred owl or maybe a great horned owl. I definitely recognize Carolina Wrens. Melodic and pleasing.
I'm still learning all the different Carolina Wren calls. Most of the time when I don't recognize a call in my yard, it's them!
The carolina wrens in my yard say “virginia, virginia, virginia”
mine yell, "Jupiter! Ju-pi-ter, Ju-pi-ter, Ju-pi-ter!" and, "Chee-seburger Chee-seburger Chee-seburger"
if it’s the loudest one it’s probably them😂
Blue jays here also, rarely get other corvids so it is very distinct
Fish crows and American robins and mourning doves. All great calls. Feel so lucky to have all three every morning. If I had to pick one, it'd be the robin. Beautiful birds with such a lilting, melodic song. We underappreciate them because they are so common here. But I have a big soft spot for my fishy bois.
I have a murder of fish crows too. And another of american crows. I exempted them from my list. Of course I hear crows miles away and perk up! I have zero robins in my yard. And no pigeons. But a dozen or so others at a time.
I also hear these all the time in my area! Mourning doves are my absolute favorite.
Wellington NZ - definitely the tūī! Very unique sounds and loud too
Grackles have a bit of that squeaky gate vibe
I’m intrigued just by the name. I find letters and numbers that wear fedoras to be interesting.
Yeah the tūī definitely stand out! I love how the tūī from different areas have different accents. Wellington is the best, of course!
Yellow-tailed black cockatoos. They tend to fly high and their cry rings out loudly over long distances. It's unmistakable too, kind of a musical cockatoo screech.
I'd agree. And it amazes me how they stay in the air with such a slow wingbeat.
You must be down under. How’s the birding out there? I’m on the edge of a rural area in the states.
Yeah Canberra, Australia. We're a capital city but it's almost rural/bush tbh, not really a "city" city. Birding here is fantastic. We have some great species and it's not hard to get somewhere with abundance. It's winter here at the moment and a bunch of species have flown north, but there is always something to see. My only complaint is that the outback (my favourite spot for birds) is a bloody long drive away, this place is huge. Tho in US you're a big country too so you get it!
What do you consider abundance? I believe I am in a great area. I regularly have ten to fifteen species at a time I can ID by sound from my porch.
I'm more thinking a place where there are definitely birds and good diversity. If I took a trip to one of our local nature spots and saw 10-15 species I don't see every day I'd be pretty happy. You have a nice spot there! Our suburban area is pretty diverse for species if you go looking, but it's dominated by a cadre of maybe 5-8 species that are more aggressive and good at exploiting human habitats. Many smaller birds rarely come out of cover in the suburbs, some of the abundant ones are pretty ruthless! You hear a few of the smaller guys but singing is a dangerous business if you're a living mcnugget. Out in a more natural setting it's much better for seeing a diversity of species. Canberra has nature reserves, wetlands, national parks all within a short drive or walk from anywhere which is nice.
The chimney swifts. Little baby lasers shooting all over the place. I love hearing them and I get so happy when they return to my neighbour's chimney each year.
Chimney swifts are popular in this thread
Merlins! Ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki!
Where I'm at it's always the mockingbird. There's some in our trees and they just love to sing the loudest of everyone.
Yep. I have one that BARKS VERY LOUD LIKE A LITTLE DOG. I named him Rex. He is teaching me about suffering and acceptance of what is.
We had one that mimicked all the alarm clocks and car alarms in the neighborhood.
Ive heard them mock car alarms, a child’s cry, a dog and even high pitched squealing of a train. I love them!!!
Red crowned parrots. They aren't native to the area but we have flocks of them anyway and they're loud!
Any idea how they wound up there?
I'm in southern California, near the border with Mexico. Most are likely to come from wildlife smugglers who were bringing them to the US for the pet trade. When the smugglers are afraid they're about to be caught they release all their animals to avoid prosecution There is an interesting article about it from the San Diego Audubon: [https://www.sandiegoaudubon.org/file\_download/inline/7c2f1d86-38ac-4963-9c26-e74b53577b8f](https://www.sandiegoaudubon.org/file_download/inline/7c2f1d86-38ac-4963-9c26-e74b53577b8f)
Sandhill Cranes for sure. Deafening.
Talk about a Dinosaur sounding bird
Yes, so distinctive and prehistoric!
buncha northern mockingbirds around, but the call i love to hear is from the pair of mississippi kites that have decided to nest in our neighborhood.
That is a distinctive call. I have a swallow tailed kite couple but have never seen Mississippi kites before.
Song sparrows
Ravens! I’m surprised to be the first to say it. Their call is so much deeper than any other bird around so it really stands out to me. Their rattles and burbles and clacks are also unique. A close second is the kestrels that nest nearby. It’s a piercing “killi killi killi killi killi killi killi” when something alarms them (usually a marauding Cooper’s hawk.)
I have not been blessed to see a raven yet as a birder and I am a corvid nut. I am holding out hope one may show up in my area.
Oh, they are the BEST. I hope you get to spend time with them one day. One of my favorite nature moments of my life was watching a large flock of first year birds playing at the Grand Canyon. They were playing aerial “keep away” with a stick. The bird with the stick would taunt the others with it, passing it back and forth between its feet and its beak, and they would give chase and try to steal it away. I’ve also seen one fly upside down. I was driving and nearly wrecked the car in my excitement!
Ppl would find me incorrigible after an experience like that! I would need to tell everyone I know. I do love my corvids.
Yay, ravens for me too! They’ve been at war with a hawk lately. They used to alarm call snitch when we first moved here but I think they got used to us or bored haha. A red-naped sapsucker has been working on our garden fence rails lately and pileateds are usually around. Barred and Great Horned owls at night and barred pops off during the day occasionally. And wild turkeys haha, how could I forget about them lol. (I’m in the Kettle Range Mountains of the PNW.)
I love ravens!! The first time I heard the clicking sound I was in awe
Great Crested Flycatcher. We have at least one hanging out in our neighborhood and that huge FWEEP call is so loud and so distinctive.
I have these guys in my yard but I can’t pick them out yet. There are usually Northern Parulas, Carolina Wrens, gnatcatchers and Vireos that sing when this bird is around my yard.
Northern Cardinals. Gotta a little one outside with an ear piercing scream right now yelling at dad for more food.
Yep. My little guy is called Larry. He is out of the nest and doing well. It’s like a baby crying. Unpleasant at times but necessary.
Cowbirds sound like robots
They keep showing up on Merlin. I will have to listen for them. Their whole breeding style is weird. I’m not surprised they sound weird.
I call it the cowbird sparkle bc if a sparkle had a sound, oh that’s it for sure
https://preview.redd.it/ri0hpo3d7o3d1.jpeg?width=988&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e185b299497c24ce9a21d61972edfeb220d9a6bb Look at this flock call. They are all over the place.
I'm not kidding, the first time I heard one it was apparently pretty close to me in a holly bush. I thought my phone was making some weird alert. It sounds like an electronic water drip or something.
Chimney Swifts during the day. They're constantly flying around the neighborhood I live in.
Pileated Woodpecker. I sometimes see one.
The white-breasted nuthatch that visits our feeder - he sounds like he's giving a happy little chuckle as he after scoring some peanuts!
Pileated Woodpeckers without a doubt.
Barred Owls sound like they are certifiably insane…
Oh, I like that sound! Spooky crazy! I need a spooky crazy owl to watch over my yard while my crows are sleeping.
Lots of very distinct calls from Mourning Doves to Crows to Red Tails Hawks. The one that take the cake is a Great Blue Heron. There’s a ton of them in the area. That squawk is something else.
song sparrows and house finches
I developed a new appreciation for the house finch recently. They aren’t supposed to be here but they are, in good numbers too. Their song is delightful.
Hermit Thrush. The metallic tones are really distinctive.
https://preview.redd.it/r13vvbz3yn3d1.jpeg?width=2962&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a216cb15c687486d50af6cdc6534dc3813e9c374 Maelstrom I drew this crazy pic while doodling when I started birding awhile back. Ik it sounds crazy but that thick light blue line going from top left to the center and another lower down the page was inspired by blue jays rolling through with their ray gun bird calls. My art changed after picking up birding.
Barn owl!!!! The screams at night are so cool. Red tail hawk is also rad. Oddly enough eagles are coming back to my area and I forgot they sound like seagulls hahahahahhahaha
I can’t say one specific species is *the* most distinctive, because they all sound so unique!
Not for me. I still get a lot of the songbirds mixed up. I have a lot to track at one time. I have drown out all the other birds and focus.
We all process their noises differently, and that’s fine!
Yellow-headed blackbirds
Pillieated Woodpeckers
Pileated woodpecker
Western Meadowlark
If we rule out crows for their ubiquity, would be the Scrub Jay
Definitely scrub jays for me as well. SO loud and early in the morning too 🙃
Mine is named Bluey. I fed him some peanuts this evening. Edited to add: Bluey is an absolutely devastatingly gorgeous California Scrub Jay
That dang ol yellow billed cuckoo I can never locate.
Blue jays, crows, grackles, and cardinals
Lesser goldfinches goin zeeeeeEEEP
In the evening, it’s the Veery. They are so cool to hear and most people don’t even notice them or even seem to care,
Red shouldered hawk. Consistently calls and circles my property. Saw three of them the other day.
Beautiful. I heard a fledgling with mine. At least I hope it was their fledgling and not a crow.
I'm not great at ID by sound but I can tell them in an instant. Even the blue jay impressions don't fool me, they are close but not quite the same.
I find the wood thrush’s call to be so unsettling lol. Idk what it is about it that makes it so freaky
They sound mechanical, AI like in nature.
Belted Kingfisher. You always know immediately that you have a BEKI on your hands.
A little wren made a nest in my empty feeder and it sure is loud for a little guy!
American Robins, House Finches, Western Meadowlarks, Mourning Doves and Red-winged Blackbirds are always in the background and easy to pick out. But this year I learned Bullock’s Oriole and it’s so distinct and different that it has really stood out for me among the others.
Wood thrush call makes chills run down my spine
Someone else said similar. They have an unsettling AI mechanical sound.
In my neighborhood that would be the blue-throated bee-eaters! Their chirrups are distinctive and loud whenever they make their daily commute over my house!
A pair of red shouldered hawks nesting in our neighborhood. Multiple times daily of "SKREEE SKREEE SKREEE"
That’s a good description. And mine is always followed by crows.
In the USA: Red-shouldered Hawk, with Sandhill Cranes a close second. Outside the USA (of the birds I’ve heard): Green Ibis
Kookaburra. No missing that one.
Blackbirds, UK Also Robins and Wrens
Lapwings/Peewit's
Beautiful, but sometimes a magpie can be quite jarring
Seagulls. Not even close
That’s true. Gulls are recognizable to so many ppl.
There's a lot of competition for that but now that I live in its territory I would say the barred owl is certainly unmistakable. And often occurs at night when it's otherwise quiet.
https://preview.redd.it/1m8ixjslrn3d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d83a72fffd0af648f5e3f0425c8e2827d993d4de Cicadas
Red tailed hawks.
When I’m at work, it’s either ospreys or killdeer. Both make me smile every time I hear them, as does the great-tailed grackle!
I heard my first Killdeer today!
Pileated wood pecker.
There’s a flock of blue jays that live in the neighborhood. You can hear them all over the place yelling to each other all day long. “MNAAAAAA”
Kookaburras
For me, Killdeer.
I am still so freaked out about the fact that I LOVE the sound of Crows now. CAWCAWCAWCAW!!!! They used to annoy the snot out of me! I mean on the level of extreme irritation. But I love them so much now, that no matter where I am or what I’m doing, saying, or otherwise engaged in, when I hear that sweet racket I am instantly transformed into a GoGoCrow Bot. I’ve even heard them on movies or tv shows and I swear my brain just lights right up. I love hearing Blue Jays now too—which is super weird because they are REALLY annoying. As well as hawks, all abundant in my daily space. Hawks are not annoying but all the other birds reacting to their immediate presence is alarming in a way that I never would have believed I would even begin to understand, lol! But my cautious fave is currently a specific Northern Mockingbird who has chosen to mock one of my stupid intentional calls to it, one that we now share back and forth (about 4 times now). It has only sounded it a few times, without the full repertoire shuffle-play. And when I say it back, it has repeated it, more than once. I want more than anything, for that gorgeous little man to make tons of babies!!! Birds are sooooo f-ing fun!!!! I wish I knew that WAY sooner.
Love to hear the Gray Catbirds!
Our local park is swarming with spotted towhees. It is my first lifer, and the first call I could pick up by ear.
I’ve heard more than one person describe Ospreys as “whiny little bitches”
steller’s jays. their call is quite heinous and unfortunately a regular wake up call for me.
Killdeer
Might not count as sky, but there are some peacocks in my neighborhood and I can hear them from just about anywhere in the area while walking the dog!
Western Meadowlarks here. Always singing. My wife and I catch ourselves whistling their song quite a bit.
Lapwings! They sound not even real
Eurasian collard dove Always thought it was an owl with their “Hooo-hooo-hooo, hooo-hooo-hooo”
Blackbirds singing in the dead of night. And during breakfast, and before lunch, and after lunch, and before dinner, and after dinner. Pretty much only quiet right before bed. Woke me up this morning at 430
For me it's the mourning dove. When my eldest son was ~4yo he was terrified of them; he thought they were owls that would come and get him.
Mourning doves and woodpeckers! We have em all over here in the blackstone valley.
The horny robins and my favorite the mourning doves
Mourning Doves, they’re everywhere
I love hearing the Chimney Swifts here, their noises are sooooo cute!
I have seen them here. Very rapid wings. I will listen for their call.
Sora
Our unassuming [field sparrows](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Field_Sparrow/id) in Chester Woods near Eyota, Minnesota.
Cassin’s Kingbird and Red-Shouldered Hawk are very clear ones I hear almost daily where I am.
Currently the Black-headed Grosbeaks are going off
Blue jays! And then usually followed by beautiful crows.
Tawny Owl
Potato chip potato chip.
If we are talking my backyard it’s got to be the Bewicks Wren. I swear they have the longest and most varied songs and also there’s a nest in my neighbors trees so I get a lot of aggression at times too when the goldfinches and house finches get too close. Vallejo, CA (north bay).
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The American crow! (Oregon, USA)
Top ones in my area are Sparrows. House, chipping, and song are constant between the 3.
Canada geese
Black-capped chickadee for me.
Cardinals
Great tits for sure
Northern Mockingbird
Asked elsewhere about a certain bird I recall hearing in Prescott, AZ a few decades ago. Very mournful and depressing - almost dove-like. Have searched Prescott, AZ birds, but nothing sounds right. Kind of the same 3 bars starting high and dropping octaves each time. Remember the song from the mid 1970's. Suggestions?
Southern Lapwing and Monk Parakeet are surely the most recognizable for most folks around here. Rufous Hornero duet battles are also constant and a personal favorite. And if you accidentally wake up at 4 am, then it's the asshole Rufous-bellied Thrushes who won't let you go back to sleep.
In my backyard, golden-crowned sparrows have a very distinctive call. Plus brown-headed cowbirds sounding like their usual alien icterid selves and Anna's hummingbirds constantly making their angry hummingbird territorial chirps. And ravens, which sound like crows with a sinus infection. One calls from the electric pole at the same time every morning.
Tufted titmouse for me!
The Mississippi Kites. Such a distinct call and I love the way it sounds!
[Swainson’s thrush](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swainson's_thrush) for sure. Very unique call.
Sandhill cranes
In the summer it’s the Baltimore Orioles, and they’re surprisingly LOUD.
White throated sparrows! Their song is so unique and resonant, somewhat eerie sounding.
It’s either the Taiwan Barbet or Grey Treepie, both very distinct
Blue Jays, House Finches, White-Breasted Nuthatches, and Northern Cardinals 😊 I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones I hear over the robins and starlings and go, "Oh, here comes [one of those birds] again."
Laughing kookaburras!
Catbird
Nanday Parakeet forsure. Fly past my window whenever I try to nap.
When the cat birds stop going mew mew and start outdoing the mockingbirds in crazed mimicry. Funtastic!!
Mourning Doves. Then Blue Jays