I'm starting to try to learn the more common bird songs (since I hardly
ever manage to actually see the birds! A binocular hunt is underway), and
I've heard a few songs in the last week that I haven't been able to find on
the Western Birding by Ear cds (I don't yet have any more comprehensive
audio refs, which will get remedied after I pay off the binocs :-)).
They're fairly simple (or else I'd not have had a hope of trying to write
them down!). Each syllable is a constant pitch, and either a clear whistle
or a buzz or a short chirp.

All three songs are from around Seattle, about 7:30 to 8pm during the last
week or so. I'll use --- for a whistle (kerr), *** for a buzzy note
(chee), ^ for a short chip. Times are approximately proportional to the
length of line (in a monospace font!), relative pitch by vertical position
on an arbitrary scale. Is there any sort of standard way to write this
stuff down?


Bird 1: near meany hall

***
^^^^
----

kerrrr chee chip chip chip chip (usually four chips, sometimes 2 or 3)


Bird 2: Greenwood residential area

******
---
^^^^^ On roughly a falling major triad.

Chee ker chip chip chip chip chip chip (usually 6 chups, fast and well
articulated, sometimes fewer)

Initial chee about 1 second, the whistle about 1/2 that, the chups about 6
per second.


Bird 3: Ballard, near where 24th Ave NW hits the canal


----
, ,
** ^ ^

Kerr chee deedle deedle a slight pause between deedles

kerr to chee is about a third, but I can't remember whether it was closer
to major or minor, maybe minor...


And why do so many birds seem to use close-to western diatonic scale
intervals anyway, at least in the simpler songs?

Many thanks for any and all help.


Allyn Weaks
allyn at cornetto.chem.washington.edu aka allyn at u.washington.edu
Pacific Northwest Native Wildlife Gardening:
http://chemwww.chem.washington.edu/natives/