sound on/off
welcome to our website of completely free natural world resources for teachers, schools, parents and children
crow
starling
tawny owl
blackbird
sparrow
robin
magpie
thrush
wood pigeon
Click the button on the right and you will hear what many people think is a beautiful sound: birdsong on a summer's morning. This is actually a part of what is called 'the Dawn Chorus', that time of the morning when it is just getting light, and all of the birds begin their singing for the day.
When we listen out for it, we can hear birds singing a lot of the time. We hear lots of birds singing, but can we tell them apart? The fact is that every type or species of bird - and there are over 500 in Britain - has its own distinctive voice, and with practice you can learn to tell them apart.
Match the Birdsong
As you can hear each type of bird really does sing in its own special voice. Listen to the difference between the sweet trilling of the robin, the throaty throbbing of the pigeon, and the cheerful chitter-chatter of the sparrow.
Bird song has lots of different purposes, and bird calls can have particular meaning related to such important things as flight, feeding, nesting, alarm and warning, and territorial defence - which means telling other birds to keep away!
Most bird songs or calls are short and simple, but they can be very long and complicated - with as many as 80 notes per second. Young birds sing begging songs - the louder and more intensely they call, the more their parents feed them. Most birds stand still to sing and very often in a favourite spot. That means that if you hear a bird song and follow it very carefully - and quietly - and slowly - you should be able to find the singer.
to hear a lot of different birds singing together
press here
When you have listened very carefully to all these different bird songs, you are ready to take our super tricky birdsong test. We have put together a recording of lots of these bird songs one after the other, plus one or two others thrown in. So grab a pencil and paper, press the button below, lesson really hard, and see how well you do!
cuckoo
to see how well you can now Match the Birdsong
press here
Press the button beneath each picture to hear each bird's very special and particular voice. Do you recognise any from your own garden, school or neighbourhood?
to check your answers press here
