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Hear the mystery “Beethoven” Bird
The neighbor of the Ridgewood resident who first asked about the mysterious Beethoven bird (it goes "tweet-tweet-tweet-TWEET") has not only captured the song and digitally captured and edited to
remove background/traffic noise, but adds that this "is the characteristic song that
first attracted me. I now know that the same bird has at least six
variations, and sometimes "talks" after the Beethoven recital, but this
copy is just the 5th, without commentary…
"[The bird] is about 4" long, with a tightly folded tail a bit over 2" long, sharply defined from the body (body ends: tail begins). The neck has stripes of tan/gray/black, a tiny triangle of black under the beak.
"The beak
is short and sharp – looks like a bug-catcher. The belly is
tan-gray and sometimes looked uniform and sometimes faintly speckled No idea of color of beak or feet.
"Share
around… let's see if it can be ID'd." (Thanks!)
Play the Beethoven Bird's song
Song Sparrow?
Please leave a comment with your appraisal….
7 comments
-
I’m looking up the word “erudite” right now, Tom. And if it’s an insult, we will have to fight a duel.
-
.. or it might be a Sparrow Song Sparrow learning the song sparrow song?
-
I agree that this is a Song Sparrow learning the song!!
-
Yies! Don’t tell me someone has reported a bird that sounds like the first few notes of the Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor!! That would drive us all crazy for the next couple of weeks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o
-
Bach, Humbug!
-
1. Never edit Beethoven. The rest of the movement might have provided more clues.
2. Phrasing all wrong for Beethoven. 🙂
Beethoven: twe, twe, twe, twaaa
Mystery bird: twee, twee, twee, twa twaaa.
3. Eye witness accounts are always unreliable, especially without knowledge of standard bird terminology. Did the 4″ include or exclude the tail? “Tiny black triangle under the bill–how tiny; how far under? What would a tightly folded tail look like? How would the observer know that the bill was adapted for catching bugs?
4. But John W’s analysis was challenging and erudite, as usual.
5. Jim. Never stop posting the mysteries. They provide lots of fun and produce provocative discussions. -
I’d say Song Sparrow. A bird which has an incredible set of variations on the general song of (as the old folks described it):
“Maids, Maids, Maids, put on your tea kettle-lettle-lettle, lettl.”
I think this may be a young bird trying to learn its song. Hence the variations. The first three notes (“maids maids maids”) is pretty clear. And it’s the first part they usually get right.
June and July are difficult times to do birding by ear due to all the young birds begging for food or starting to vocalize. Moreover, the unmated males often sing odder songs too. And I can’t blame them. 😉
John W.
Leave your comment
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7 comments
John Workman
I’m looking up the word “erudite” right now, Tom. And if it’s an insult, we will have to fight a duel.
John Workman
.. or it might be a Sparrow Song Sparrow learning the song sparrow song?
Carol Flanagan
I agree that this is a Song Sparrow learning the song!!
Tom Burr
Yies! Don’t tell me someone has reported a bird that sounds like the first few notes of the Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor!! That would drive us all crazy for the next couple of weeks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o
Jim Wright
Bach, Humbug!
Tom Burr
1. Never edit Beethoven. The rest of the movement might have provided more clues.
2. Phrasing all wrong for Beethoven. 🙂
Beethoven: twe, twe, twe, twaaa
Mystery bird: twee, twee, twee, twa twaaa.
3. Eye witness accounts are always unreliable, especially without knowledge of standard bird terminology. Did the 4″ include or exclude the tail? “Tiny black triangle under the bill–how tiny; how far under? What would a tightly folded tail look like? How would the observer know that the bill was adapted for catching bugs?
4. But John W’s analysis was challenging and erudite, as usual.
5. Jim. Never stop posting the mysteries. They provide lots of fun and produce provocative discussions.
John Workman
I’d say Song Sparrow. A bird which has an incredible set of variations on the general song of (as the old folks described it):
“Maids, Maids, Maids, put on your tea kettle-lettle-lettle, lettl.”
I think this may be a young bird trying to learn its song. Hence the variations. The first three notes (“maids maids maids”) is pretty clear. And it’s the first part they usually get right.
June and July are difficult times to do birding by ear due to all the young birds begging for food or starting to vocalize. Moreover, the unmated males often sing odder songs too. And I can’t blame them. 😉
John W.