Few things are better than waking up in the morning to a flurry of joyful chirps in your backyard. But it’s even better if you can identify the birds by just hearing their song. We’ve created this 10 question quiz to see whether or not you can correctly identify the birds by its song or call. These are the most common birds you’ll likely hear in your backyard, so you won’t get thrown a bird like a Black Oystercatcher that you may have never heard or even seen.
Let us know how you did in the comments.
1. Bird Song #1 — Listen: BirdQuiz1
Which bird do you think it is?
a. Northern Cardinal
b. American Robin
c. Common Redpoll
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a. Northern Cardinal
The Northern Cardinal has many different calls, but a common variation features one or two whistles followed by a long trill.
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2. Bird Song #2 — Listen: BirdQuiz2
Which bird do you think it is?
a. House Sparrow
b. American Goldfinch
c. Black-capped Chickadee
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c. Black-capped Chickadee
Chickadees get their name from their distinctive call that sounds like chick-a-dee. In this call, you can hear three dees at the end, indicating moderate danger.
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3. Bird Song #3 — Listen: BirdQuiz3
Which bird do you think it is?
a. American Robin
b. House Finch
c. American Goldfinch
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a. American Robin
The American Robin has a string of repeated whistles that are often described as sounding like cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheerily, cheer up.
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4. Bird Song #4 — Listen: BirdQuiz4
Which bird do you think it is?
a. Northern Flicker
b. Downy Woodpecker
c. Yellow Warbler
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b. Downy Woodpecker
When excited, Downy Woodpeckers give a squeaky pik call. They also make a high-pitched whinny with several notes in quick succession that get deeper at the end.
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5. Bird Song #5 — Listen: BirdQuiz5
Which bird do you think it is?
a. Common Raven
b. Grackle
c. American Crow
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c. American Crow
Unlike the Common Raven, which has a deep, gurgling call, the caw of the American Crow is much higher pitched. It’s also described as much harsher.
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6. Bird Song #6 — Listen: BirdQuiz6
Which bird do you think it is?
a. House Finch
b. American Goldfinch
c. Hairy Woodpecker
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b. American Goldfinch
The song of the American Goldfinch is a bit difficult to determine. It usually has a long, continuous call that tends to ramble. It’s flight song is most distinctive and sound like po-ta-to-chip.
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7. Bird Song #7 — Listen: BirdQuiz7
Which bird do you think it is?
a. Blue Jay
b. Northern Cardinal
c. Common Grackle
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a. Blue Jay
This is the most common call of the Blue Jay — the jeer. It also has a metallic gurgling sound and can mimic hawks.
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8. Bird Song #8 — Listen: BirdQuiz8
Which bird do you think it is?
a. Mourning Dove
b. Northern Flicker
c. House Sparrow
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c. House Sparrow
House Sparrows have one of the simplest songs to identify. They let out a monotonous cheep or chirrup.
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9. Bird Song #9 — Listen: BirdQuiz9
Which bird do you think it is?
a. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
b. House Finch
c. Mountain Bluebird
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b. House Finch
Here’s a good description of the House Finch song from AllAboutBirds.org: “Male House Finches sing a long, jumbled warbling composed of short notes. The song often ends with an upward or downward slur, and lasts about 3 seconds.”
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10. Bird Song #10 — Listen: BirdQuiz10
Which bird do you think it is?
a. Mourning Dove
b. Pigeon
c. European Starling
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a. Mourning Dove
The Mourning Dove lets out a coo-OO with two or three oos following.
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16 Comments
all correct except one which was the american goldfinch which I put as house finch.
Sorry about that, I think it has something to do with Firefox. Any other browser should let you play them all.
I tried to make it as wide-ranging as possible, although it’s hard to leave the Northern Cardinal out since it’s a common backyard bird in the northern regions.