Christine, check out Larkwire (http://www.larkwire.com). It's an online app
that is organized around exactly the kind of song comparisons you're
looking for. In fact, it has comparison groups for each of the pairs you
mentioned.

Full disclosure: I'm the founder of Larkwire.

cheers,

Phil

On Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 11:13 AM, Christine Southwick <
clsouth at u.washington.edu> wrote:

> For the last three days, our neighborhood has had the pleasure of having a
> male Purple Finch [PUFI] singing his territorial song from a thick quince
> on one side of the street, and a male House Finch [HOFI] singing his song
> from higher up in a fir tree, directly across the street from the singing
> PUFI.
> Talk about a way to compare and distinguish the different songs of the two!
> The PUFI's song is so much fuller than the HOFI, meaning, if you could see
> the sonogram, the PUFI notes would be much broader than the HOFI.
> The PUFI's note seem crisper and more melodious than the HOFI too. And
> the final, clincher, is only the HOFI has that nasal "wheer" at the end.
>
> It wasn't until this morning that I got an identifying look at the PUFI,
> pleasing, but not really necessary. I haven't yet seen the HOFI, but there
> is no doubt. I've even been able to teach a couple of neighbors the
> difference. This the first time that I have heard such a neat
> comparision--it is almost as though they are competing against each other.
> One will sing, then the other.
>
> I wish there were some Western bird song CD's that compared territorial
> bird songs that can be confused (especially at the beginning of the
> season), when only one bird is heard:
>
> Purple Finch vs House Finch
> Oregon Junco vs Spotted Towhee
> Bewick's Wren vs Song Sparrow
> Pileated Woodpecker vs Northern Flicker
>
> I know there are others, but those are the ones I know can fool me.
>
>
> I'd also like to have a CD that has their call notes. I can tell about
> ten birds by just their call notes, but some people can ID upwards to 50
> species, and I hate feeling inadequate. I'm surely not Bird Breeding
> Survey [BBS] material, and someday I would like to be.
>
> Every year, about now, I have to go back and listen to our common
> warblers, and flycatchers songs, so that, when I hear them high up in
> trees, and can't seem to find them, that at least I know what I have heard.
>
> Any CD recommendations.
>
> Christine Southwick
> N Seattle/Shoreline
> clsouthwick at q.com
>
>
>
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
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>



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