Bird songs help claim territory, attract mate

An indigo bunting graced the grounds of the Fields Pond Audubon Center last week.

A male indigo bunting is a showstopper – a bird related to the sparrows but colored a rich, deep, dark blue on every feather. Its usual habitat consists of hilly fields that are not mowed every year and therefore have many shrubs. A male indigo bunting will sit on the very top of a tall shrub or a small tree and sing his two-note song series.

The nest is made within several feet of the ground, typically within the middle of a shrub. Its nest is hard to find until November after the leaves have fallen. By then, the adults and young indigo buntings are in Central America.

The female is a rather attractive warm brown color, which camouflages her as she sits on the eggs, and brings insects to the young. I would never call her “dull,” as some birders say of female birds.

Birders sometimes secretly memorize silly words that help them recognize the cadence and intonation of a bird’s song. Years ago, when I was trying to learn bird songs, the silly rhymes in the bird books didn’t help me at all. It was very frustrating and difficult to remember those bird songs. Their songs didn’t sound anything like the words in the bird book.

At some point (I think slowly, I admit it), it dawned on me that birds didn’t really say or sing words. However, the rhymes help the new birdwatcher recognize the cadence and intonation of a bird’s song.

The indigo bunting’s song has this cadence: “fire, fire, where, where, here, here.” It works for me.

If you have a robin in your yard in June and July (the nesting time), listen to his flutelike song in the rhythm of “cheerio, cheerup … cheerio, cheerup … cheerio, cheerup.

Or if you’ve seen a yellow warbler in your yard, try to pin down its voice, a hasty “sweet sweet sweet, I’m so sweet.”

If you have a phoebe in your yard, listen as it sings its buzzy “fee … bee,” not to be confused with the chickadee’s whistled, musical “fee … bee.”

Have fun listening to bird songs now. For birds, their songs claim a territory in spring and attract a mate. If you watch a little bird belt out his song, you can see the effort the singing male spends. He quivers and moves on his perch. It’s hard work. Birds can’t expend energy for no reason.

The next big “project” is molting – and after that, migration.

Most of the dawn chorus will be over for the season by July 10. Enjoy it now.

For information on Fields Pond Audubon Center, call 989-2591.