Learning bird calls

[Peter Shute <>]

A problem with using apps for learning calls is that you can't change from one species to another without a lot of tapping. They could easily program them to play as a quizz (the pictures too), so there's a missed opportunity for app developers there.

I found the BOCA CD set useful, as you can play them straight through, although the species is announced so guessing isn't an option. I'm also not sure if they're available now.

Another option these days is to browse the xeno-canto website for good samples of species you're interested in and download them. There are no species announcements on them. Then you could play them back with a "shuffle" setting.

I've found it's useful to listen to "soundscapes", recordings made without focusing on one bird, and trying to pick out each species. You can search for soundscapes in xeno-canto:

https://www.xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Soundscape%20cnt%3A%22Australia%22

They generally list the species in each recording, but not the times. You can post questions about recordings in the xeno-canto forum, and often the recordist will respond. You'll find that you can hear more species if you use headphones.

You could make your own soundscapes too by leaving a recorder running while you're birding, and then analyse the recording later. I often find there are species recorded that I didn't notice at the time. Anything you're not sure of, you could post here for discussion.

Peter Shute

On Thu, 24 Oct 2019 at 7:08 pm, Tracey Newcombe <m("hotkey.net.au","tnewcombe");" target="_blank">> wrote:

Hi everyone,
I’ve never been very good at identifying birds by calls, but now I find I’m losing my eyesight, so I’m hoping to try and continue my interest in birds by learning their calls. Is there a reliable app or other resource to get more familiar with calls?
I have the Pizzey and Knight app, and the Morcombe app, which I think are really useful, but I have to identify the bird first before I can play the call. What I want to do is identify the bird by call only.
Any advice gratefully received. My eyesight will be gone within the year so want to start my new learning journey as soon as I can.
Thanks,
Tracey

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