Listening to a Continent Sing

A western kingbird in dawn song. From his perch he sputters and bickers a nearly continuous kip kip kip ki-PIP, single kip notes followed by an occasional double ki-PIP, with a strong emphasis on the PIP, and every few seconds he delivers a flourish of longer and louder notes, ki-PEEP-PEEP-PEEP-PEEP, the emphasis strong at first and then trailing off. He had been singing here for perhaps 15 minutes before I caught up with him, and he sings for only two more minutes before flying off at 2:18 to sing elsewhere.

Background

Ring-necked pheasant crow (best heard during the first second), eastern kingbird, great crested flycatcher awakes at 1:41.

Photo by Robert Royse