What Bird Makes This Sound? (1 Viewer)

I've never given much though to birds before, so I'm not sure how good my description will be but hopefully it won't sound too much like I don't know what I'm talking about!
Early a few mornings ago, well before sunrise, a bird woke me up. It was quite shrill, reminding me of a smoke detector, but not as loud. It would sing 3 to 5 times each time, with the last one being the longest, maybe a second, with a few unusual sounding breaks. Sort of like it continued but didn't.
Does anyone know what that bird might be? I know that isn't a very good description, but if anyone has a recording of a bird that sounds sort of like that I could listen to it and see if it is what I heard. I'm in southern Québec anyway, so that might narrow it down a bit since I don't think we have as many birds here as some places do.

-Schuyler

Welcome to BirdForum!

Maybe Song Sparrow? Their song is varied, but they usually have a few leading notes which sort of sound like the little beeps your smoke detector gives when its battery is low and then a longer final note that is sort of a trill.

Northern Cardinals also might be a candidate.

If you research the bird sounds, make sure to listen to several samples of each. The cardinal has several different songs it sings.

Thanks. I found a site with bird recordings, and it sounds closest to a golden-crowned sparrow, although not exactly. But I'm not sure that's what it was because it mentioned they're west coast birds.

Does anyone know good sites with lots of bird recordings? I only managed to find one.

-Schuyler

Schuyler said:

Does anyone know good sites with lots of bird recordings? I only managed to find one.

Click to expand...

The problem with bird recording sites is that you need to know the name of the bird in order to listen to its call.

It would be great if someone put a site together where the calls/songs were arranged categorically by "how" they sounded.

It is just very difficult to categorize them beyond very broad categories and still have most people agree with their categorization.

Like maybe "Click here for raspy calls". What is "raspy"?
Click here for long calls. What is "long"?

The Cornell ornithology website is really good but again, you need to say what species you want to listen to.

You also need to pay attention to the range of the bird on the map. The Golden-crowned Sparrow does not live in your part of the country, he's on the west coast. Look for birds in your area, probably warblers and sparrows. This will narrow your field down a bit. Good luck!

bird song

Have you tried White-throated Sparrows they sing very early in
the morning and I hear them often right now here in Manitoba !

Schuyler said:

Thanks. I found a site with bird recordings, and it sounds closest to a golden-crowned sparrow, although not exactly. But I'm not sure that's what it was because it mentioned they're west coast birds.

Does anyone know good sites with lots of bird recordings? I only managed to find one.

-Schuyler

Click to expand...

This cite has a good selection of song recordings: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/

Just select the species account, and then navigate to the song section.

Golden-crowned Sparrow would be extremely unlikely, so I think we can pretty much eliminate that based on range. White-throated Sparrow, as suggested above,would be worth checking out. If that is not it, it might help if you said more about the habitat around your house, and what birds you see there. Are there mostly lawns and gardens, forest/trees, fields, bodies of water, or something else?

Best,
Jim