Bird song identification: songs and calls for beginners

Springtime is filled with plenty of highlights, not least the burst of birdsong that erupts as the days get longer. But as a beginner, how can you tell your robins from your blackbirds and your chiffchaffs from your chaffinches? Here you'll find the songs and calls of 11 of our most familiar songsters to help you identify the key voices when the dawn chorus hits its crescendo.

1. Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Song

A silvery, crystal song that becomes more wistful during the winter months.

Call

Produces a rapid, urgent 'tic' call when alarmed.

Best time to hear

Can be heard all year round, but especially at dusk. Artificial lighting can encourage it to sing long into the evening.

Audio: Andrew Harrop / xeno-canto.org

2. Great tit (Parus major)

Song

Clear and repetitive 'tea-cher, tea-cher, tea-cher'.

Calls

Has a range of calls that can be difficult even for seasoned birdwatchers to identify.

Best time to hear

Begins singing in early spring as buds begin to burst.

Audio: Stuart Fisher / xeno-canto.org

3. Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

Song

A loud burst of song with consistent phrases, including a tell-tale machine gun rattle towards the end.

Call

A loud, rapid 'tititic' when alarmed.

Best time to hear

Can be heard all year round but especially in spring.

Audio: Mike Ball / xeno-canto.org

4. Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)

Song

Says its name with a lively, repeated 'chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff-chiff-chaff'.

Call

Contact calls between pairs are short 'it' sounds.

Best time to hear

Begins singing as early as February after returning to the UK on migration.

Audio: Dave Curtis / xeno-canto.org

5. Willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)

A melancholy, descending song of falling notes.

Call

Soft 'hoo-eet' sound.

Best time to hear

Listen for them from late March and early April once they've returned from sub-Saharan Africa.

Audio: Tony Fulford / xeno-canto.org

6. Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

Song

Short and fast descending song that ends with 'diddieoo', or repetitive, insistent single notes known as the chaffinch's rain song.

Calls

Contact call is an abrupt 'pink, pink' sound.

Best time to hear

Can be heard throughout spring and summer.

Audio: Dave Curtis / xeno-canto.org

7. Blackbird (Turdus merula)

Song

Rich and mellow with a languid pace and short pauses between phrases.

Call

Scolding, harsh outburst when alarmed and often delivered in flight.

Best time to hear

Typically heard on long summer evenings.

Audio: Frank Lambert / franklambertbirding.com

8. Song thrush (Turdus philomelos)

Song 

Variety of short, high-pitched phrases, usually repeated two or three times in quick succession.

Call

Flight call is a sharp 'tsip'.

Best time to hear

Males begin singing as early as January, particularly in early morning.

Audio: Bram Piot / xeno-canto.org

9. Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)

Song

A loud and rapid 'twit-twit-twit-twit' or slower 'sirr-sirr-sirr'.

Call

Series of harsh sounds much like the song but which come closer together when excited.

Best time to hear

Can be heard throughout the year.

Audio: Nick Talbot / xeno-canto.org

10. Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Song

Light and twittery song with delicate phrases. 

Call

Produces various calls, some fluttery and others shrill, particularly when travelling in groups. 

Best time to hear

Listen for them from late April.

Audio: Stuart Fisher / xeno-canto.org

11. Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)

Song

Building notes that fall suddenly away in a wheeze, famously said to sound like 'little-bit-of-bread-and-no-cheeeeese'.

Call

Various, including 'twick' sounds and a thin 'see' when alarmed.

Best time to hear

Heard singing from hedgerows throughout spring and summer.

Audio: Tony Whitehead / xeno-canto.org

Do female birds sing?

It’s well known that male birds sing to attract a mate and defend their territories, but what about female birds?

While both males and females make calls – such as warning calls when they’re alarmed – it was thought that only male birds had the ability to sing. But now we know that this isn’t the case.

Female birds sing too, albeit more quietly and less often, and use their song in a similar way to males: competing for food and other resources, to defend territory and to communicate with their mates and chicks.

This is particularly true of some of our most common songbirds. Both male and female robins will sing during autumn, paired female dunnocks will use their song to assert their dominance with their mates, and female wrens sing softly to their chicks.

So female birds do sing – at least some of them do some of the time.