How to Learn Bird Songs
Birds inhabit many areas of the United States from suburban and urban locations to coastal seacoasts and mountainous regions. Whether hiking along a forest path or jogging in a city park, a variety of bird species is present and singing individual melodies. Learning to recognize a bird by its unique sound enables novice and experienced birdwatchers alike to combine individual species with individual birdsongs.
- Visit the local library and checkout a field guide to birding containing color pictures of birds for quick identification. Check out available CDs or recordings of bird songs to correlate with the guide pictures.
- Take a hand recorder to local city or state parks, downtown areas, waterside locations, anywhere birds are present and record bird songs. In a notebook, name or describe the bird being recorded. Assign a number to each bird to coincide with its song on the recorder.
- Streamline the hand recording process by having a color picture of each bird recorded readily available. This is when a birding field guide is useful. Study the pictures and the recorded bird songs together to reinforce the learning process.
- Search on the Internet for available downloads of bird songs. Downloads may be available directly to a computer or phone.
- Search the Internet for birding projects or websites dedicated to birds that provide pictures, song downloads, learning materials, individual bird information and quizzes to test visual identification and hearing comprehension of a variety of birds and bird songs.
- Participate in annual birding projects where field identification of local birds is required.
- Join a birdwatchers club for hands on experience. Look for clubs for novice birdwatchers that promote visual and hearing birding field trips.
- Take an ornithology class online or at a local college.