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dawn chorus
What sounds do these Irish garden birds make?
Can you tell your beep-beep from your cheep-churoos?
RIGHT NOW, THE dawn chorus is at its peak.
From early April until the middle of May, birds of all shapes, sizes and creeds erupt into song at dawn. If you find yourself in the right place with plenty of birdlife around, you’ll encounter an incredible wall of sound.
But could you tell who is singing? With a little help from the wealth of information available on BirdWatch Ireland’s website, we’ve pulled together this test for you...
First is up the great tit, a classic of the easily recognisable bird song genre.
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Teacher, teacher
Baker, baker
Farmer, farmer
Phlebotomist, phlebotomist
What angry little call might a wren make?
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Ah! Ah!
Beep! Beep!
Tic! Tic!
Hey I'm real angry over here.
The house sparrow keeps it simple with its call. What does it sound like?
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They make no noise.
A slow, drawn-out honking.
Four even tweets in a row.
Lively little cheeping sounds
The blackbird is known for its beautiful "slow, mellow and fluty" song, consisting of a series of phrases seemingly unique to each bird that it weaves together. They also have a tiny, almost imperceptible call which sounds like...
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A human sighing.
Psew (maybe best described as a tiny bird snore).
A car door closing.
A frog being stretched out.
It can be difficult to tell a mistle thrush and a song thrush apart visually. How is the song of the latter best described?
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Short phrases repeated three or four times, some of which can be quite strong and full-bodied.
One long, loud piercing note that ends in a flurry of smaller noises.
Identical to a blackbird, except the song never changes.
The classic Nokia 'kick' ringtone.
You hear a coo-COO-coo coo-coo above you in the forest canopy. What is it?
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A cuckoo.
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A wood pigeon.
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A collared dove.
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A chicken.
A group of small colourful birds fly over in a series of short, gentle glides making a tinkling, vaguely musical noises. You likely just saw...
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Starlings.
Wrens.
Goldfinches.
Magpies.
You're out doing some gardening and you hear a gentle repeated song that sounds almost floral or liquid. Who is keeping you company?
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A jay.
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A robin.
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A chaffinch.
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Him.
The dunnock or hedge sparrow is a sometimes underappreciated garden bird. What does it song sound like?
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A jumble of notes which sound metallic, almost like a rusty wheel.
A harsh chack-chack.
They mimic other birds, often causing confusion.
A beautiful, slow minor-key melody that goes on and on.
And last but not least, Ireland's smallest bird, the goldcrest. Its call is tiny, high-pitched, and difficult to hear, but from a winter hedgerow you might hear...
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... twoo-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti twoo.
... zi-zi-zee
... slap slap slap.
... goldcrest, goldcrest.
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You scored out of !
Your knowledge of birds transcends these mere garden birds.
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You scored out of !
Well done! Here, have a bird.
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You scored out of !
Not bad, but you need some more birdspotter training.
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You scored out of !
Maybe you're more of a seabird person, and that's okay.
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You scored out of !
You are a hedgetrimmer.
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