Bird songs and calls make up an integral part of outdoor soundscaping, yet can sometimes be hard to discern amid traffic and industrial noise.
Use these 81 free chirping and singing bird sounds in your audio and video projects for unlimited use! From forest ambience to coastal birds, each sample runs for 3 minutes giving you plenty of creative scope.
African shrikes
Shrikes, as a diverse family, can be found throughout Africa’s scrubby woodlands. Up until recently, helmet-shrikes were included within this group, but now fall into their own family (Vangidae). These vocal birds forage at all levels of forest canopy for food sources and may form noisy groups at any given time; some even feature colorful head ornaments like those seen on West Africa yellow-crowned gonoleks with brightly coloured crests, wattles, and tufts as yellow-crowned gonoleks with yellow-crowned gonoleks having brightly-coloured head ornaments like those found on yellow-crowned gonoleks (Vangidae).
Some species, such as Lanius collaris), prefer spending much of their time hidden among dense foliage or hidden beneath low branches, while others, such as South Africa’s thornveld-shrike, prefer open woodlands and are more visible. A pair may occupy their territory for years before defending it with loud calls or flight displays to keep out other pairs; migrants typically protect both breeding territories as well as wintering grounds simultaneously and they sometimes even separate into different territories when migrating between seasons.
Shrikes may appear small, but their powerful hunting prowess makes up for their small size; they are regularly found killing mice and other vertebrates. Although once believed that shrikes grabbed prey by its neck with long beaks and tore it apart, high-speed video footage shows their sharp beaks impale the victim before holding them until blood loss has caused death. Forks of branches provide food storage facilities – many African species remain resident while some migrate across Eurasia – including Common Fiscal.
Magpie larks
Magpie-larks are famous for their beautiful duets, which now serve to mark territory and maintain pair bonds. Their calls consist of sharp metallic pipes with flapping wings mid-duet to show rivals that they mean business. Furthermore, magpie-larks will protect their mud nests against larger birds such as magpies, ravens, kookaburras and wedge-tailed eagles; in rare instances such attacks result in serious bodily harm to people.
Magpies-larks can often be seen perched atop telephone wires either alone or in pairs, patrolling areas of bare ground. They’re an often-seen presence throughout Australia’s suburbs where they roam over parks, ovals, street verges and lawns. Their nests are bowl-shaped structures constructed from soft mud that contain plant fibres or feathers for insulation; each nest holds between three to five eggs laid.
Magpie-larks are monogamous birds, remaining together for life once paired. These adaptable birds can be found throughout Australia (except for particularly arid desert areas ), New Guinea and Timor as well as Lord Howe Island; both rural and urban environments. Their wide-ranging habitat preferences range from forests and open country to rugged coastlines – they even feed off disease carrying freshwater snails that infect sheep and cattle! This species should not be considered pests in agricultural settings since their predatory instincts help them feed on disease carrying freshwater snails that infiltrate these areas.
Song thrushes
Poets and literary figures alike revere the wood thrush (Ee-oh-lay). His song is both mysterious and haunting; like that of a flute it repeats short phrases twice or three times quickly before belting out from treetops. You might spot him foraging quietly on forest floor in summer while nesting high up in deciduous forest lower canopy or midstory areas.
Male thrushes use their songs to mark territory. While other songbirds might answer each rival song with its identical tune, wood thrushes often respond with something completely different – known as song matching. Furthermore, wood thrushes can sing pairs of notes at the same time harmonizing together for an enchanting, haunting song that captures your attention!
Reluctant birds may not always be easy to spot, but it’s easy to hear their haunting song if you know where to listen for it – woodlands throughout HumCo will likely feature this bird at dawn or dusk, especially. Look for broken snail shells scattered on forest floors as these serve as one of their preferred food sources.
The wood thrush is a species of special concern in North America. It has been declining steadily for decades in both countries and now occurs only occasionally in some states. This species was added to the 2016 State of North America Bird Watch List which highlights birds that require immediate conservation action to prevent extinction.
Brown thrashers
Brown Thrashers can often be found foraging for food in dense brush and shrubbery, often making them hard to spot when singing. While their nests may seem protected, Brown Thrashers have been known to strike at people and dogs when they perceive any intrusion into their territory – the best way to attract these birds would be placing out an attractive feeder containing fruit such as berries near dense cover where they might be feeding.
This long-tailed bird features rich rufous upper parts with heavy dark streaking on its whitish underparts and yellow-spotted tail, often mistaken for robins, wood thrushes and gray catbirds; however it differs significantly in that its dark markings on wings and neck are more distinct and its deeper voice can mimic songs from other species crudely.
Singing frequently throughout the summer in open fields, woodland edges and thorn scrub as well as less frequently in suburban areas with numerous hedgerows and brush piles; less so in suburban areas with abundant hedgerows and brush piles. Their complex song features repeated double phrases without an obvious beginning or end and may include slurs, whistles, chirps hisses or grunts for accompaniment.
This bird typically lays 3-8 eggs that incubate for 12-13 days before hatching them out and breeding across its range, although less commonly in its eastern half. According to IUCN it is listed as Least Concern.
Northern mockingbird
There are 16 avian species worldwide with the name mockingbird; American birders most frequently encounter the northern mockingbird. Its Latin name, Mimus polyglottos (meaning many-tongued mimic), refers to its ability to imitate other birds’ calls and songs as well as human voices, animal sounds, amplified noises and mechanical sounds with incredible precision.
Mockingbirds can easily be seen in open areas such as forests, parks and suburban neighborhoods where they flit between open lawns in search of insects and perches such as streetlights and telephone poles to hunt berries and seeds. As territorial species they can become quite aggressive towards anyone who invades their territory; even humans.
Mockingbirds make signature sounds such as whistles and shrill squeaks to attract potential mates, according to scientific theories. Scientists speculate that such sounds serve as display behaviors.
Mockingbirds are mostly permanent residents, although they may move south during harsh winter weather. Their concentration is highest in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas where they inhabit diverse habitats like pine forests, evergreen woodlands and urban environments. Male mockingbirds sing most frequently between early February and mid summer before returning in fall to establish new territories; females remain less vocal. Males make four primary calls: nest relief call, hew call, chatburst call and begging call.
Yellow-throated warbler
This bright and lively songbird is one of the first birds to return to forests in spring. Typically seen foraging on branches high up in the canopy of pine and cypress forests, listen for its plaintive song that begins high before gradually dropping in pitch.
Yellow-throated warblers build nests during breeding season in mature forests of pines, cypresses, and sycamores. Female Yellow-throated warblers do the majority of work by crafting cup-shaped nests out of Spanish moss or at the ends of branches; males assist by feeding both parent birds as well as carrying sticks and twigs for nest construction.
Named for its sweet, downswinging melody, this bird breeds throughout the Southeastern US before migrating south for wintering in riverside groves of sycamores in Florida.
An effective way to differentiate the Yellow-throated Warbler from other warblers is its unique coloration – lemony yellow with heavy black streaking across its body and an elegant chest banding pattern. Adult Yellow-throated Warblers typically measure 4.3 to 5.1 inches long and weigh 8-13 grams; males feature an eye-catching mask of yellow and black stripes while females tend to have duller and browner faces; non-breeding males and immature Yellow-throated Warblers will often display versions of those seen by breeding adults.
