Connecticut
Nature
Common Core StandardsCCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.1; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.5,
CCSS.Math.Content.2.MD.D.9; CCSS.Math.Content.2.MD.D.10
BIRD SONG
Vocabulary
Written by Katie Blake, Audubon Connecticut
Birds are amazing. One of the features we love most about birds is their beautiful songs.
Whether they are singing to signal the limits of their territory or to impress their mate, their
songs are diverse, complex and so beautiful and in their singing, they impress us too.
Some birds’ songs have great patterns and sounds that make for easy remembering. For
example, the Eastern Towhee’s song sounds like ‘drink your tea’ and the White-throated
Sparrow’s song sounds like ‘old sam peabody peabody peabody.’ These mnemonic devises make bird song easy for us to remember as we are learning! Birds’ songs can also
remind us of other creatures. There are birds that sound like a cat meowing- the Gray Catbird. There is even a bird that no doubt was the inspiration for Star Wars’ R2D2- the Bobolink. Find these birds and more here: http://www.audubon.org/bird-guide
Whereas most of our songbirds are enjoying warmer winters in Central and South America
right now, there are still plenty of birds to look and listen for in your backyard or schoolyard. See our Bring it Home section below to learn more about how listening and looking
for birds this winter can help scientists.
Pitch – the quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone
Transfer – the passage of energy (such as sound) from one material to another
Vibration – the act of moving back and forth, or up and down (such as striking, strumming, plucking, or blowing), to produce sound
Volume – the loudness of a sound (low, average, high); the more vibration, the louder the volume
Bring it Home!-
Listen (and look) for birds and
help scientists.
The winter is a great time to contribute valuable
data to scientists on bird populations through
a citizen science event called The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). The GBBC is a joint
project between Audubon and the Cornell Lab
or Ornithology and this year is held Friday, February 12 through Monday, February 15, 2016.
Participants are asked to count birds for as
little as 15 minutes (or more) on one or several
of the count days. To find out more and participate, visit: http://www.audubon.org/content/
about-great-backyard-bird-count. Happy counting!
Student
Activities
• Have students use GarageBand or another free online
tool to create their own song that persuades people to
help preserve a particular animal in their schoolyard or
backyard. There should be an accompanying written
component that includes facts and persuasive language.
Have students share their products and receive peer
feedback.
• What sounds do you hear in nature? Go outside and
listen! Have students close their eyes and count the
different sounds that they hear. Have students document
what they hear – how do the sounds differ in pitch and
volume? Which sounds were bird songs? Was the redtailed hawk screech higher or lower pitch than the chirp of
the American robin? Have students measure the different
sounds they heard and visually represent them. Encourage
students to compare their measurements and diagrams
to those in field guides that contain spectrograms, or
to visit a website such as http://www.birds.cornell.edu/
AllAboutBirds/studying/birdsongs/sounds.
• Sounds of the Long Island Sound – have students research
several different birds that live in or along the Sound.
Students should describe the sounds that the birds make
and use descriptive words for the pitch and volume. A great
resource to use is the Audubon Bird Guide: http://www.
audubon.org/bird-guide. Can students identify patterns in
the sounds? How do the birds differ in sounds? Can you
describe their specific habitat within Long Island Sound?
Might the types of sounds they make be related to whether
the animal is a predator or prey, or
making sounds for different purposes?
• Need more ideas? Download the
Audubon CT Schoolyard Habitat
Curriculum Guide at http://ct.audubon.
org/school and check out the Bird Song
lesson!