icterids

Songs and calls of some New York State birds

Orioles and Blackbirds

* means an 8kHz .au file; others are 22kHz .au. File lengths are given in kB.

Images are adapted from drawings by Chester A. Reed, B. S. in Chapman.

Bobolink 82kB
Dolichonyx oryzivorus
New Paltz, June 1996
Perching song 108kB
New Paltz, May 2000
"It is a mad, reckless song-fantasia, an outbreak of pent-up, irrepressible glee" Mathews, p.49

Brown-headed Cowbird
Molothrus ater
Cowbirds courting 46kB
Ithaca, May 2002
The finch-like trill is not mentioned in Peterson!
Display note 17kB
Ithaca, May 1998
Four cowbirds courting 83kB
Ithaca, May 2002

Red-winged Blackbird 40kB
Agelaius phoeniceus
Long Island, May 1997.
Intimate discourse between Red-wings 190kB
Long Island, May 1996.
Whistle 164kB
Whistle, check and ``bulabookleree" 282kB
Central Park, April 2001


Eastern Meadowlark 35kB
Sturnella magna
New Paltz, June 1996



Baltimore Oriole 87kB
Icterus galbula
Long Island, May 1996
"A short series of rich, clear, whistled notes" (Sibley).
Male and female keep in touch while foraging. 357kB MP3 file
Long Island, April 2006
 Each oriole sings his own song; many have surprisingly musical structure:



Orchard Oriole 57kB
Icterus spurius
Long Island, June 1996


Common Grackle 40kB MP3 file
Quiscalus quiscula
A tree full of grackles 256kB MP3 file
Grackle courtship? 100kB MP3 file
Long Island, April 2004
Young grackle begging 44kB
Long Island, June 1999


INDEX: Main Bird Page   Gulls and Terns   Other Shorebirds   Geese and Ducks   Loons   Doves   Raptors   Owls   Kingfishers   Quails, Partridges, etc.   Cuckoos   Woodpeckers   Flycatchers   Titmics and Nuthatches   Wrens   Mimic Thrushes   Thrushes   Vireos   Warblers   Orioles and Blackbirds   Tanagers   Swallows   Crows and Jays   Finches   Sparrows   Hummingbird   Tony's Home Page

Tony Phillips
Math Dept SUNY Stony Brook
tony@math.sunysb.edu
June 16 2004