Listening to a Continent Sing

With a fine chorus of bullfrogs in the background, a field sparrow delivers his simple daytime song, 11 of them over two minutes. Each song begins with four pure whistled tones, all on the same pitch, taking almost a second; the transition to the rapid trill of upslurred whistles, 13-14/second, is abrupt, making the song sound distinctly two-parted while staying on roughly the same pitch throughout, neither rising nor falling.

Contrast the daytime singing of this male with the energy of a field sparrow during the dawn chorus, in VA-39.

Background

Blue-gray gnatcatcher, bullfrogs, mourning dove, American robin (calls only), eastern towhee, and an intense, continuous chorus of insects up about 5000 Hz.

Photo by John Van de Graaff