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Rufous-crowned Sparrows (Aimophila ruficeps) sing this Spring song when they're looking for love around Peck's Lake [Arizona]. This one was in the creosote scrub which grows on the steep hillsides around the lake.
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Rufous-crowned Sparrows (Aimophila ruficeps) are one of the most common sparrows in Costa Rica. They like urban and semi-rural field environments, like parks, soccer fields, etc. This song is sung over and over, and loudly!
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The beautiful Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) calls are very quiet and very high-pitched (7500+Hz), making them difficult for some observers to hear. They have two songs: one is a delightful twinkling ramble, also sung very quietly. Both the calls and the song are on this sample, recorded 1/17/99 north of Phoenix, with the Telinga mic from only 20 feet.
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The second song is the spring breeding song. This one was recorded near Sedona, Arizona, 5/22/99
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A small flock of Orange-billed Sparrows (Arremon aurantiirostris) invade the very temporary quiet at La Selva - 11/98.
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Black-striped Sparrows (Arremonops conirostris) woke us at La Fortuna (Costa Rica) in the dawn chorus, with their "bouncing ball" song. Later I found one singing in a field on the road leading to Fortuna Falls. This song's a treat!
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Black-striped Sparrows (Arremonops conirostris). Here's a longer version, including the calls that often precede their full song.
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In this recording, a pair of Black-striped Sparrows (Arremonops conirostris) talk to each other in the shrubbery outside our room at the Arenal Lodge, early morning. This is their characteristic chatter, 6/15/99.
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This Common Bush-Tanager (Chlorospingus ophthalmicus) was part of a mixed flock in the Monteverde Cloud Forest (Costa Rica).
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Sooty-capped Bush-Tanagers (Chlorospingus pileatus) inhabit the higher areas on the Cordillera Central & the Talamanca range - this small flock was recorded at Catarata (waterfall) La Paz (Costa Rica).
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mating season song
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Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) are regular winter visitors to Arizona. These are their call and flight notes.
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A Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) flew right up to me as I was sitting on my ladder at Tavasci Marsh [Arizona], sang a quick song and left - as though he was auditioning! Then, remarkably enough, another did the same thing 30 minutes later. The two songs are totally different in pitch and content. The first three phrases are the first bird, the last phrase is from the second. It is noteworthy that the second sparrow sang the same phrase over and over, whereas the first one sang different phrases each time.
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Male "talking". He's hidden in the thick weeds at the marsh's edge while he chatters, creaks, sings, peeps and whistles in a tour de force of rapid vocalization.
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Two birds "whispering" to each other in the Sedges at Tavasci Marsh [Arizona]. The first two notes you'll hear are this species' chracteristic notes - you'll hear these nasal chirps any time there are Song Sparrows in the neighborhood. The last part is the whispering - much amplified - you would not hear this from more than 20 feet away!
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From Monterey County, CA.
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This is one of the Green-tailed Towhees' songs.
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Green-Tailed Towhees (Pipilo chlorurus) show up here in the Fall. They have a distinctive mewing call, a piping note, and a beautiful song. They occupy the same territory as the Abert's Towhee - stream sides, edges of watery areas, Mesquite. This is the mew.
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This male Spotted (Rufous-Sided) Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) was sitting in a tree in Sedona, Arizona. He let me sit 6 feet from him while he sang these two variations. The first notes are a jay-like call, or mew, which he repeated for several minutes,then he started the second, which is a fantastic short song. The spectrogram shows his frequencies to exceed 11 KHz!
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A second Spotted (Rufous-Sided) Towhee sits in a Juniper in Sedona. I'm including this one to show you how the same species in the same area can sing slightly different tunes.
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Black-chinned Sparrows (Spizella atrogularis) can be identified by the "bouncing ball" finish to their songs. Here are two examples, sung alternately by the same bird who was in the Scrub Oak/Chaparral near Wilhoit, Arizona, 7/20/98.
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These are Brewer's Sparrows (Spizella breweri) singing their hyped-up Spring songs. These guys are the winners of the "fast talking sparrow" award in these parts! The songs are sung at low volume, however, so recording them is a challenge.
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Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina) gather in small flocks and sing these wispy songs in the Springtime. Like the Brewer's, above, they sing very quickly and very quietly, making it difficult to pinpoint just which individual is singing.
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Here is the Spring Song of the Chipping Sparrow, recorded 5/9/98 at Grand Canyon, Arizona.