Descriptions of sounds are given for most species.
Click on species name to go to All About Birds account for that species.
The green "listen" button provides the most common sounds.
Click on the Sounds menu item to get extensive recordings for each species.
Female gives a traditional "quack".
Familiar loud honks.
Song: hoo HOO hoo, hoo HOO hoo; Call: "ugly' growl.
Slow, subtle, mournful: hoo HOO hoo hoo hoo (low high lower lower lower)
BCHU male wing noise much more subtle than BTHU; Female has less rufous than BTHU female
(Migrant coming 1st week of July) Very aggressive, very red-orange.
BTHU male makes loud wing noise when flying;
Wings held up in slight v-shape (dihedral); rocks, unlike other raptors
Near nest, male gives emphatic "kek kek kek kek". Number of keks variable.
Rules for buteo ID in our location: 1. It's a RTHA 2. It's a RTHA 3. It's a RTHA --- Must eliminate RTHA first; Belly band on whitish front; Juvenile does not always have a red tail.
Hammering begins with quick burst followed by slowing, irregular hits.
Bill short compared to head size; Whinny descends in pitch at end.
Bill roughly equal compared to head size; Whinny stays on same pitch to end. "pink" call brighter than Downy call.
Longer, stronger whinny than other woodpeckers.
High pitched, insistent "klee klee klee"
Buzzy descending pee-wee given from high perch.
Song: fitz-bew; In general, Empidonax genus flycatchers difficult to distinguish unless singing on their breeding grounds.
Song: two note
Song: (pit)-pee-ur; descending slide
Always high in the canopy. Often: 3-note rolling phrase repeated 2 or 3 times. [In All About Birds, see Song(Western)]
Single ascending shriek and a harsh chatter
Caw; Smaller, cleaner beak and generally sleeker look than Raven; Large groups common, espaecially outside of breeding season.
Chortle; Ravens often fly in the manner of a raptor. (Pair-bonding includes synchronized flight); Large groups rare except if soaring (like raptors) on a thermal.
White breast-belly; White on sides of rump often visible
Dirty white breast-belly
Buff to rufous breast-belly; Forked tail often observable.
Song: descending fee-bee or fee-bee-bee; Common breeder in Taos; Unseen, but heard Chickadee in non-breeding season should be reported as Black-capped/Mountain Chickadee.
Song: descending fee-bee or fee-bee-bee; Generally breeds at higher elevations
Repeated nasal: hun hun hun hun (both a slow and faster version heard)
Single high, thin "seee". Almost always heard before seen.
Call: Distinctive, insistent, high-pitched nasal mews. At times sounds scolding.
Flight call a whispered "chew" or "choor". Given repeatedly in flight.
Will return in Winter to give its repeated clear whistle.
Song: "cheeri-up cheer-a-lee cheer-ee-o" pause and repeat. Calls include a whinny.
Call: A cat-like "meow"; Song: a seemingly disorganized noisy collection of random notes and sounds. Can go on and on sometimes.
Sounds unpredictable. Sounds are rarely songlike. If it doesn't "ring a bell" and its subtle, consider Starling.
Male gives a dry "killip". Flocks give a constant indescript chatter.
"warbled whistle"; Consistent, large gatherings this spring were unusual.
Rollicking warble overall descending. During spring and breeding season, often ending with an upward slurred note.
Similar to House Finch song. Less likely to end with up-slurred note. (Also gives a "pit-a-lit" similar to that of Western Tanager.
Song like other finches. Not particularly distinct; Often gives ascending trill like running a thumb-nail up a comb [in AllAboutBirds see "Calls (northern) California June 6]
Song difficult to separate from AMGO; Two note, descending slurred call distinctive. Often sounds conversational.
Variable series of "twitters and warbles".
Song generally opens with 2 or 3 single notes followed by a descending jumble. Sometimes ends in a trill. Sometimes the opening notes extend into a "bouncing ball" cadence before the descending jumble.
Chup-chup-chup-cheeeze song ubiquitous in our area. Call, a not very catlike "mew" or "grr". As the breeding season ends, the song will become absent and most detections will be made by the call or sight.
In our area, usually 4-6 different sounds/phrases separated by about a second. Generally makes one sound/phrase, then makes a different one. (This is in contrast to the Northern Mockingbird which usually sings one phrase 2-6 times before moving on to another phrase.) During breeding season, consistently sings at night.
Song: Distinctive, opens with a few clear notes before tumbling into a few watery warbles .
Song: rhythmic high and low notes sometimes suggesting child's sqeaky noise toy. Call: Harsh 2-3 note chatter common.
Song: From granddaughter May: boo-REEEEEEEE(-toh) [The burrito bird]. Calls: Loud,fast "check", "chit" and others.
Song: distinctive liquid/watery notes followed quickly by a slurred, ascending, sharp whistle.
Loud and noisy! Shrieks, whistles. Ascending and descending squeals. Rapid machine-like noises.
Song: a slow trill, increasing slightly in intensity and then trailing off in intensity and sometime in pitch.
Gives a strong, rolling: "wichety-witchety-witchety"; In NM generally associated with wetlands.
"Sweet-sweet-sweet-I'm so sweet" faster than you can say it. Arrives when trees have solid leaf cover.
Present here only in migration: slow, pulsating warbled trill; Arrives before full tree leaf-out.
During migration, consistently gives subtle "pit-a-lit".