Content Warning: I am about to ruin your blissful and zen-like enjoyment of the natural world (including your backyard). If you wish to keep your life intact, please move along to the next post, pick up a good book, or go drink a cup of tea while I speak to the rest of you.

Are you sure? Okay, let’s go.

Birding by ear is often reserved for the most avid of birders – a sign of dedication to the art of species identification. Memorizing the feather pattern of a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher or from a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet is nothing compared to the intangible nature of memorizing bird songs.

But I’m here to tell you: bird songs are not for the list-ticker alone! Even the most casual backyard bird enthusiast can learn to recognize bird songs.

Much like telling the difference between two medium-sized black and white woodpeckers with a spot of red on their head (I’m looking at you Downy and Hairy), some songs are only subtly different. But plenty are much easier to differentiate. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t be able to pick up a guide, read the mnemonic (words to help remember the rhythm and pitch of a bird song) and be able to identify a song. Mnemonics are only good AFTER you’ve heard the song. But I do want to change the way you see sound identification (for better or worse!).

So let me introduce you to the Eastern Towhee, a common and beautiful bird with a very distinctive song. Often seen hopping and scratching the ground in search for insects, Towhees wear a black (male) or brown (female) cape and hood with rusty sides and a bright white belly. Despite their distinctive plumage, they often go unnoticed in the suburbs and urban parks where they are commonly found.

But if you want a glimpse into the ubiquity of the Eastern Towhee, press play below to hear the command to “Drink your teeeeeeeeeea!” (the most common pneumonic). Once you hear and learn its song, it will consume your world as you hear it almost wherever you travel in North Carolina.

Last chance to turn back…

Now a word about mnemonics – they are only suggestions! The most common pneumonic for the Carolina Wren is “cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger”, but to my ear, it sounds more like “tea kettle, tea kettle, tea kettle”. But if neither of those works for you, pick your own – bee spittle, pea brittle, three turtles, crepe myrtle, or any other memorable combination of sounds.

Does learning bird songs remove the mystery of “what might be out there”? Far from it. Birding by ear only offers the delusion that all species that are in this patch of woods are making sounds and only heightens the sense of discovery when you notice a silent ball of feathers flitting about amongst the blackberry bush, hopping from stem to stem, avoiding thorns and gleaning the occasional insect.

The curse of learning bird songs is that once you start hearing them, it is hard to stop. You will hear them everywhere, not only sitting at a park bench or waiting at a bus stop but even walking down an urban street or even sitting near a closed window in an office!

So, you may choose to learn more songs and begin a journey to greater awareness of the birds around you. Or you might choose to stick to the blissful ignorance of appreciation without identification. It’s up to you, but unfortunately, you can’t have your tea and drink it too.

But if you wish to drink it…

Mobile devices make learning new bird songs much easier, and without the need for a skilled birder-companion. Apps like Merlin include the sounds, calls, and songs of almost all birds in North America. There are even a few that will try to identify the song you record from your phone (like BirdNET or SongSleuth)!

Bonus bird: The Chimney Swift.

These birds spend all day in the air catching insects, only landing in the evening to tend to their chicks or roost. But you will notice them across the state by their distinctive “twitter”.