The birds are singing again and our ears are “rusty” after six months of their silence. How can we identify them?

Here are YouTube videos for four species singing in my Pittsburgh neighborhood this morning.  Perhaps they’re in your neighborhood, too.

• Song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) get back in tune very early in the year.  They’re resident throughout much of North America so they begin practicing in January.  By now they’re doing the territorial call-and-response in Pittsburgh.  In the video above, you can hear a song sparrow off camera before the one in view responds.

• Carolina wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) are LOUD.  Resident in the eastern U.S., their song is described as “TEAkettle, TEAkettle, TEAkettle” but it doesn’t always sound like that.  Often the best clue to identifying this wren is that it’s the loudest voice you hear.  Watch him sing below, then look for your local wren on a prominent perch.  You’ll be surprised by how far away he is.

• House finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) were originally from the western U.S. and Mexico but bird sellers illegally captured and sold them as “Hollywood Finches” in New York City.  In 1940, with law enforcement in pursuit, the dealers released their birds in Central Park.  Since then, the eastern population has expanded westward, nearly meeting up with their western relatives. You probably have one singing in your neighborhood.  Listen to him below.

• The mourning dove’s (Zenaida macroura) “whoooing” song is sometimes mistaken for an owl but when you look for the source you’ll find this bird puffing his throat. Mourning doves are tuning up near you.  They’re resident in most of the U.S. and Mexico.

(videos from YouTube. Click on the “Watch on YouTube” icon to see each video with explanatory text)

Songbirds are well aware that birds of prey will eat them so they warn each other when they see one. Their warning calls can alert us, too, that a predator is circling overhead.

American robins (Turdus migratorius) stand very still, turn one eye to the sky(*) and make a very thin, high-pitched sound similar to a cedar waxwing’s call.  Seet.  On the sonogram below it’s shaped like an eyebrow. Here’s what it sounds like:

“American Robin (Turdus migratorius)” from xeno-canto by Paul Driver. Genre: Turdidae.

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) make a spitting sound that’s much easier to hear.

They sound off from a safe perch or call “Danger! Danger!” as they take off to avoid the predator.   In my experience, they only use this sound when they see danger in the sky.  Here’s what it sounds like:

“Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)” from xeno-canto by Jarek Matusiak. Genre: Sturnidae.

When you hear these calls, look up to find the hawk.  At Schenley Plaza it may be a peregrine falcon.

(*) American robins turn one eye to the sky because they don’t see straight ahead as well as they do side to side.  For more information see Anatomy: Field of View.

(photo of American robin by Joel Kluger on Flickr, Creative Commons license. Click on the image to see the original. photo of European starling by Chuck Tague)

For two decades, Chook the superb lyrebird lived at the Adelaide Zoo, South Australia and wowed visitors with his vocal abilities.

Superb lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae) are the size of pheasants and native to southeastern Australia.  The males are famous for their courtship displays which include shaking their elaborate tails and accurately mimicking a wide variety of sounds.

In the wild, superb lyrebirds mimic natural sounds.  In 2009 there was a lot of construction at Adelaide Zoo.  When the breeding season came Chook faithfully reproduced the sounds of hammers, power drills and workmen whistling on the job.

Close your eyes at the 3:15 mark and listen to the handsaw!

(YouTube video from Zoos SA, Australia)

PEREGRINE FANS, I have no news since Saturday.  I will update you when news comes in. Meanwhile, here are links for all Peregrine News to date and Peregrine FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions).

p.s. Thanks to Ed McCord for pointing out this video.