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Home Birding Bird Species Songbirds


THE MOST MUSICAL SONGBIRDS IN AMERICA


Sally RothUpdated: May 25, 2022


BIRD SONGS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND MELODIC. DISCOVER WHY YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING AS
WELL AS LOOKING FOR THESE MUSICAL TYPES OF SONGBIRDS.

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THE TOP SONGBIRDS

Bill LemanSong sparrow

What is the best bird song? How can we choose when there are so many beautiful
songbirds in the bird world! And the winner is…the wood thrush. Or the hermit
thrush. Or maybe it’s the mockingbird, veery or the house finch. With hundreds
of bird songs to choose from, picking the singer who reigns supreme all depends
on who’s listening. But whichever bird strikes a special chord in your own
heart, this list of soulful songbirds will definitely give you a few new
favorites to discover. Here’s some of the best songbirds in America.

Learn how to identifying birds by their song.


THRUSHES

Bill LemanAmerican robin

Imagine yourself in a spring wood in the dim light at the end of the day,
listening to the poignant song of a wood thrush. Pretty soon, you too may be
inspired to write a love letter to this singer, as Thoreau did in his 1852
journal, extolling the wood thrush’s evocation of “the liquid coolness of things
drawn from the bottom of springs.” The simple ee-oh-lay followed by a trill is
haunting, no doubt, but it’s the twilit surroundings that make it pure magic.

Another thrush with a delightful song is the veery. This bird’s simple song, a
whirling, reedy repetition of its own name, is also delivered at dawn and dusk
in the dim forest, going straight to the romantic heart of the listener.

Courtesy Lisa SpangenbergThe hermit thrush has a musical song

The song of the hermit thrush isn’t nearly as sweet and heart-tugging, but its
rapid, liquid melody resonates with our ears because it follows some of our own
musical scales, a trait that researchers only confirmed last November after
carefully analyzing recordings.

Finally, a bird so common we tend to never give it a second glance: the American
robin. Take a few minutes to listen, and you’ll see it shares the musical
talents of its thrush family. Wake up early to listen for a robin bird call.


WRENS

Courtesy Louis RuttkayCarolina wren singing

An unstoppable waterfall of notes spills from the throat of the tiny,
indefatigable house wren, one of our most beloved backyard birds. Put up a
birdhouse with a 1-1/8-inch entrance, and you have a good chance of welcoming a
whole family (including baby wrens!). The house wren is the virtuoso, but all
wrens have voices that will perk your ears up. Learn what a Carolina wren call
sounds like.


ORIOLES

Courtesy Deborah BifulcoBaltimore oriole

Loud, clear, whistled songs are the hallmark of these vividly colored birds.
Oranges, jelly, sugar water and suet will attract orioles to visit your yard.
Learn what a Baltimore oriole song sounds like.


SPARROWS AND FINCHES

Courtesy Stuart Fiedler House finch

Every one of our native sparrows (more than two dozen species) has a song, and
many are sweet and melodic. Listen for the common, brown-streaked song sparrow,
which begins singing in late winter. House finches are among the earliest
singers, beginning their complicated warbling not long after the turn of the
year. These species prefer seeds, so stock up on white proso millet for
sparrows, sunflower seeds for finches and nyjer for a treat.

Why do birds sing in Spring?


MIMIC THRUSHES

Courtesy Julie HalloranGray catbird

Northern mockingbirds, gray catbirds and brown thrashers have charming songs,
but they can mimic other sounds, too. You’ll hear them singing at dawn, dusk and
off and on throughout the day. They’ll sometimes sing at night, too. The
mockingbird in particular may take it to extremes, holding forth for hours from
the rooftop right over your bed. Learn more about thrasher birds.


GROSBEAKS

Courtesy Garland KittsRose-breasted grosbeak

Less common than other songsters, the rose-breasted, black-headed and blue
grosbeaks are all melodic warblers within their nesting ranges or along their
spring migration routes. Once a rarity at feeders, they’re becoming more and
more frequent visitors. They’ll eagerly eat sunflower seeds, as well as small,
soft fruits from bushes or trees.

The most familiar grosbeak is one we don’t usually think of, although its heavy
bill says otherwise. It’s the Northern cardinal, one of our most abundant and
beautiful backyard singers. Learn what a cardinal’s call sounds like.


TANAGERS

Bill LemanSummer tanager

Seeing—or hearing—a tanager is usually a red-letter day because these birds
aren’t nearly as abundant as other songbirds. Still, keep your ears open for
their long, robinlike songs, especially during spring migration, when they may
stop off in any backyard. Some tanager songs have a hoarse quality, suggesting
“a robin with a sore throat.”

Discover 8 surprising facts about tanagers.


EUROPEAN STARLING

Courtesy Patrick BouchardEuropean starling

What’s the scorned starling doing among the sweet-voiced songbirds? Well, it’s
an incredible singer, too. Best of all, starlings begin singing in winter, just
when it feels like spring will never come.

Meet the vireo bird family: sweet summer singers.


ATTRACT MORE SONGBIRDS TO YOUR BACKYARD

Courtesy Rex Thompson Northern cardinal

Insects and fruit are the natural menu for most of our finest songsters,
including thrushes, orioles, tanagers, mimic thrushes and many grosbeaks. The
more trees, shrubs and other native plants in your yard, the more of these birds
you’re likely to hear as they forage for insects and other natural food.

Many songbirds are only recently discovering feeders, so stock yours with a
variety of offerings: Suet, mealworms, oranges, apples, peeled bananas and
grapes are a great start. Don’t hesitate to experiment, either. When I dumped
small chunks of dried papaya in the feeder, a gray catbird and a Baltimore
oriole took turns snatching them up. Orioles and a few others are famed for
having a sweet tooth and will eat jams and jellies or visit an oriole feeder
with perches. Finches, buntings, native sparrows and grosbeaks prefer seeds at
the feeder. Another must is a bird bath. They’re a big attraction for all
songbirds.




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Originally Published: May 24, 2022




Sally Roth
Sally Roth is an award-winning author of more than 20 popular books about
gardening, nature, and birds, including the best-selling Backyard Bird Feeder's
Bible. Roth is also a contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. She and
her husband share their home in the high Rockies with a variety of animals.



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