help me identify this bird!!
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Anonymous
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^^ I should also mention that the birdjam website has lots of common songbirds' songs on it. It's a great resource!
You'll probably also hear lots of song sparrows, blue jays, and mourning doves in the DC area. Those seem to be the biggest non-mockingbird singers. If you hear a bird repeating the same phrase twice and then doing something completely different (again, twice), and then moving on to another duplicated song, it's probably a starling. They have sort of scratchy voices and do a lot of clicking and whirring. P.S. Mockingbird babies make the most horrible screeches. They don't learn to sign until their second year. Due to this, I'm not the biggest mockingbird fan, even though the adult males are accomplished copiers of nice songs. |
Anonymous
| not the op but thanks for the links. I was able to identify a big huge scary looking bird I saw near my son's school the other day. A Turkey Vulture! Nasty looking thing it was! |
Anonymous
| To the 'burrito' comment, I know what you are hearing, but I don't think it is the female cardinal. I have been listening to the 'burrito' bird in se Michigan for 30 years. Well as long as I have known the word burrito. The sound linked up above doesn't match the accent or the sound I hear in MI. |
Anonymous
| I recommend the Sibley Field Guide to the birds of Eastern North America. Not expensive, heavily illustrated and available at Amazon. |
Anonymous
Oh yeah, the car alarms that do all the different types of alarm sounds? I've heard birds do that. |
Anonymous
| It could be a brown thrasher. They are also repeaters and mimics like mockingbirds. We have many in the area. |
Anonymous
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Northern Mockingbird ; )
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Anonymous
| I want to know the name of a bird who’s call sounds like it’s saying burrito |
Anonymous
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Mockingbird!
Their liquid song is enchanting! Some people hate them because they sometimes sing at night, but it's so beautiful I'm always enchanted by their music. They are a grey bird, about the size as a cardinal (cardinal male is bright red). When they take off in flight you can see white bars on their wings. Not to be confused with a catbird, which meows like a cat and doesn't show white bars on the wings while in flight. |
Anonymous
Was going to post this—probably a mockingbird. There are a fair number of them around here. They copy other birds and repeat each tune about 3-4 times before moving on. If the repeat is just twice, it’s a catbird. |
Anonymous
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National Geographic has a great bird ID book that lots of birders around here use.
If you want to learn more about birds, Cornell’s Ornithology Lab has online classes about feeder birds, eastern US birds, and then more detailed courses on warblers, hawks, etc. Also some short freebie classes. It’s probably best to start with the more general courses so you don’t get overwhelmed. The Audubon Naturalist Society in Kensington, MD, has beginner bird walks at their HQ and at parks in MD and VA. |
Anonymous
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Cornell’s Bird Academy is a great resource. Here’s the catbird page:
https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/an-expert-mimic-the-gray-catbird/ https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/#_ga=2.265936522.489544154.1555456531-88770811.1555456531 |
Anonymous
| Another great resource is the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. They have a great free app (Merlin) that can ID birdsong. They also have a lot of free info ab out identifying birds. |
Anonymous
Ha, I was just posting about the lab! 
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Anonymous
Jinx?! |