ID by song - "CHEE-fo-TEE-TEE" SW Pennsylvania - Now with audio. (1 Viewer)

[Jocelyn W.]

I'm pretty accustomed to the particular mix of birdsong in our area. On April 16, I heard a call I don't ever remember hearing before, which sounded as I described above the fold: A high CHEE, a low, quieter fo, and then a TEE TEE at a note between the two. I made a terrible recording with my laptop of me mimicking the call, which is attached - apologies for quality and my voice breaking, but the pitch and timing is pretty much dead on what I heard.

I heard the call maybe six times one day, then nothing for a couple days, then again a couple times one day, and that was it - never since, which makes me wonder if it was a migrating bird.

I listened to all the Pennsyvania birdsong on this page, and didn't come up with anything that I thought it could be. Any thoughts? Thanks, BirdForum!

Jocelyn

 

[Andy Hurley]

Welcome to birdforum Jocelyn.
Is this your bird? http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/up...richia_albicollis_24may2007_SteMarguerite.mp3
A White throated Sparrow

 

[Jocelyn W.]

Nope, Andy, that call goes up, and this bird's call definitely went "high-low-middle-middle."

 

[bcl05]

Eastern towhee?

 

[Parula6]

White-throated Sparrows sing that one-two-triple-triple pattern, but there's a lot of individual variation in the notes used and the pattern doesn't always rise. I've heard high-middle-low-low, low-high-middle-middle, and so forth.

The tonal quality of the song you heard might help with ID - was it a clear whistle vs burry or squeaky, or maybe really loud and prominent vs quiet/subdued?

The suggestion of an E. Towhee is worth checking into, although I'd think you'd have run into that song in a compilation of PA bird songs.

 

[Microtus]

Jocelyn, have you listened to other White-throated Sparrow songs on Xeno-Canto? I don't know how many there are, but if there is a fair number, they could capture the wide variation of the species songs.

 

[Jocelyn W.]

Parula6, the song was very clear and melodious and *loud*. We have a lot of song sparrows in our neighborhood, and it was even more melodious than they are. It really grabbed me because of how different it was.

In terms of comparing it with the Eastern Towhee, the CHEE didn't scoop upward like the ET's "WHEE," and it was even clearer than the ET. The middle note was a clear, whistling "fo" as compared to the ET's slightly buzzy tone, and the "TEE TEE" was not as chirrupy as the ET's last note.

Microtus, I've now listened through all the song on Xeno-Canto. Thank you for the link. I think the first note was similar in some cases, maybe not as clear as what I heard, but the last 2/3rds of the song didn't match in any case. The middle note in the white-throated sparrow recordings were minor as compared to this bird's major, and the last notes in the recordings sounded like a trailing "dee dee deedeedee deedeedee" as compared to this bird's very defined "TEE TEE."

 

[Jocelyn W.]

Mystery Bird finally came back and I got a recording. You can hear it here. Please pardon how short it is. You can hear the bird I'm trying to identify at 0:05 and slightly cut off at the end. I heard it twice on Saturday and twice today.

 

[stonechat1]

Northern Cardinal is what I can hear at the mentioned spots.
http://xeno-canto.org/browse.php?qu...+(Cardinalis+cardinalis)+75&species_nr=ruipir

 

[kuips]

Stonechat, there definitely is a Northern Cardinal at 5 seconds. But there is a Chee-fo-tee-tee as jocelyn mentions at that time as well, just very quiet and in the background.

It does sound to me like an alternate song of a White-throated Sparrow....but not 100% either.

 

[Andy Hurley]

Hi Jocelyn,
have you tried posting your recording at xeno-canto for discussion? Those guys are pretty amazing with bird song

 

[Jocelyn W.]

Andy, I hadn't tried xeno-canto. I will give it a shot. Thanks for the tip.

Stonechat, there are definitely cardinals in the foreground of my recording. I listened to a lot of them on xeno-canto. The "Chee-fo-tee-tee" I'm trying to ID is in the background, as kuips says.

I'll try xeno-canto and post back here if they have any insight. Thanks, all.

 

[Jocelyn W.]

I tried xeno-canto and got no replies at all there. I haven't heard the bird since mid-June. I sort of wonder if it was a bird from the tropics or something, thousands of miles off course, but I have no way to know how likely that would be.

 

[mmalady]

hi jocelyn, im no expert by any means and im probably way off but have you considered one of the chickadees? Around here they disappeared in june and a few individuals have returned this past week. They are not as active or in the open as they are in winter and spring but i hear them occasionally. It isnt their usual "chicka dee dee dee". I heard similar sounds as in your recording and upon searching with binoculars i located the chickadee..just one individual..wondering if it is a variation of their call when the groups are separated as in spring and beginning of fall?