Birdsong Dialects

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Click on the links below to download MP3 files of different birdsong dialects.

THREE-WATTLED BELLBIRDS

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An adult male Three-wattled Bellbird singing in the Monteverde dialect. Note the third song (consists of four loud whistles and some softer notes) and the fifth song (listen for a loud bonk, some soft sounds, a loud whistle and then some more soft sounds). Those two songs both have the loud whistles, and one of them has the bonk, the loud sound that contrasts strongly with the quack of the Panama dialect.

Track 2

An adult male Three-wattled Bellbird singing a sequence of five "songs" in the Panama dialect. The third song consists of two loud quacks followed by two series of soft sounds. The last song consists of three loud quack sounds, followed by a single series of soft sounds.

Track 3

Listen to a juvenile male Three-wattled Bellbird whose songs are "bilingual"—sharing features of the Monteverde and Panama dialects. Note the third song (with three loud whistles, characteristic of the Monteverde dialect) and the last song (with two loud quacks and two series of soft sounds after that, characteristic of the Panama dialect).

BEWICK'S WRENS

Track 4

In this recording of a Bewick's Wren, hear four adult songs. They are sharp, crisp—the songs of a confident, mature adult male.

Track 5

In comparison, a juvenile Bewick's Wren "babbles" a subsong. This young male, perhaps 90 days old, runs his songs together.

Back to The Language of Song: An Interview with Donald Kroodsma

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