The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Bird Identification › How can I identify a bird call?

    • Jane
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      I have a bird in my backyard (South Central Missouri) that's driving me crazy!  I can't see it, but it has a distinctive, loud, one-note call that's clear and more like a loud whistle than anything else.  It never stops... just goes on pretty much all day.  I have a recording of it, but can't seem to get an identification using any of the apps I've tried. Does anyone know of a way to identify a call?  Doesn't seem like I can upload the audio file here.   Thanks!
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    • Frankie
      Participant
      Chirps: 99
      Hello Jane! For future sound recordings, use BirdNET, a link below, which I find is generally trustworthy . I used it for this, but the crickets made it hard to   ID. I believe there are apps that let you minimize or isolate background noise for better quality recordings. I hope you find this helpful. Happy Birding! Link: https://birdnet.cornell.edu/api/
      • Jane
        Participant
        Chirps: 8
        Hi Frankie and thanks for the advice!  I tried BirdNet, but like you said the recording was so bad it had issues.  My husband cleaned up the file, but I couldn't figure out how to upload a recording.  So I just took a hike and found a red-winged blackbird making the call.  Over and over and over. :).
    • Jane
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      Well, I did this the old-fashioned way, and it's a red-winged blackbird.  Here's a video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k9on8yIReL9Vb1X5DP2TX40xA_ER9V_T/view?usp=sharing
    • Jane
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      It occurred to me that I can post a link to the audio file. Here is it in Google Drive. I greatly appreciate any assistance! https://drive.google.com/file/d/17-qbOkl2W-Ur6LXmTMIHBQl7vr81n_mf/view?usp=sharing