Listening to a Continent Sing

A prairie warbler offering five of his buzzy, daytime songs. The notes in these buzzy songs are brief, about seven per second, with a longer buzzy note on the end. These are the "mate-attraction songs," those used when the male is interacting with females, or singing in a relaxed state.

Contrast these buzzy songs with the more tonal, aggressive songs that males use when fighting or during the dawn chorus (see VA-33).

Background

Common yellowthroat, eastern towhee.

Photo by John Van de Graaff