
Song sparrow
And the winner is… the wood thrush. Or the hermit thrush. Or maybe it’s the veery or the house finch. With hundreds of songbird repertoires 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 songsters will definitely give you a few new favorites to discover. Take a listen to some of the best.

Bill Leman American robin
Thrushes. 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.
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.
Wrens. 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. The house wren is the virtuoso, but all wrens have voices that will perk your ears up.
Orioles. Loud, clear, whistled songs are the hallmark of these vividly colored birds. Oranges, jelly and suet will bring them to your yard, but for a bit of extra temptation, put out a handful of string (6- to 10-inches long) for them to use during nest-building.
Sparrows and finches. 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. Seeds are what all of these dozens of species prefer, so stock up on white proso millet for sparrows, sunflower seeds for finches and nyjer for a treat.
Mimic thrushes. Northern mockingbirds, gray catbirds and thrashers have charming songs, but they can imitate 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.
Grosbeaks. 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.

Bill Leman Summer tanager
Tanagers. 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.”
European starling.What’s the scorned starling doing among the sweet-voiced beauties? Well, it’s an incredible singer, too. Best of all, starlings begin singing in winter, just when it feels like spring will never come.
Attracting Songbirds to Your Backyard
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 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 a nectar feeder with perches. Finches, buntings, native sparrows and grosbeaks prefer seeds at the feeder. Another must is a birdbath. They’re a big attraction for all songbirds.
Sue Drenkhahn says
I was so dissappointed that you didn’t include my favorite- the White Throated Sparrow with it’s beautiful “Oh San pibidy pipity pipity (or sweet Canada, Canada, Canada”.
Big Jack Ass says
I am too. He taste like chicken Sue.
Dan says
Why don’t you have birdsong sound-bites? Especially for an article on listening for birdsong?
Deb says
Agree….would have enjoyed listening to these birds beautiful songs while reading the article. 🙂
Jill Schmidt says
That would have been a great addition! Then we’d know who we’re listening for/too.
Craig Gagnier says
Yes. Doesn’t make sense to have an article talking about bird songs without having .wav files to go along with it.
Stella Pridon says
I love reading everything you post. Learn so many things I did not know. Thank you!!!
Patricia Westerfield says
I was disappointed to find no recordings in this article. What would help is to have the recorded sound and the memnonic written out with the bird’s picture. An example-“drink your teee” beside a picture of the towee and a button for the sound.
Craig Gagnier says
I agree!
Karen Piedmont says
Plesse include sound bites when you discuss birds. I am new to birding, & I do not recognize birds by their songs. Also, please indicate regions of the US where these birds can be found. I live in South Texas, &, when I have an opportunity to research many of the birds you discuss, I often learn that many of them are not usually found in my part of the US.
Thanks. I truly enjoy your magazine.
Troy Boucher says
And what about martins, cardinals, mocking birds, bobwhites, catbirds, eastern king birds, meadow larks, and thrashers. I think it depends on what part of the country you live in as to what song birds are popular and found in backyards and surrounding country.
Dan says
What about the Northern Cardinal? Have You ever heard it’s song?
Cindy H says
I love hearing the soundbites, too.
Here is an example of a way to be able to do it easily when there are no soundbites..
1. Left click and blue (or black) in the name of the bird.
2. Right click on it and choose ‘Search Google for “White Throated Sparrow”.
3. Type in the word ‘songs’ at the end of the words White Throated Sparrow or whatever bird you have chosen.
3. Check for a website in the search results such as http://www.allaboutbirds.org.
4. In my case, it was this: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-throated_Sparrow/sounds
5. That way you still get to hear the sound of the bird without leaving your computer. 🙂
Craig Gagnier says
Good job Cindy! Thanks!
Joyce Thomas says
Am really surprised that you didn’t mention Tennessee state bird, the Mockingbird! They can imitate any other bird & have so many beautiful songs! How could you not? Am a TN girl.
Diana says
which birds are here in southwest Louisiana, lower zone 9 don’t know much about birds but enjoy them and have planted trees at new house & plants. have birdbath & bird feeder but no birds came. How high should it be?
Ellie says
Is there a CD of beautiful bird songs? One with perhaps sweet instrumental music between bird songs, or just quiet space between songs? Would be relaxing to have this.
Barbara says
I love the song of the house wren.
Maralyn Chandler says
How do I submit a picture of baby birds to be identified?
Allan Wood says
Sounds of some of the birds mentioned in the article:
Song sparrow: http://www.bird-sounds.net/song-sparrow/
Summer tanager: http://www.bird-sounds.net/summer-tanager/
Hermit thrush: http://www.bird-sounds.net/hermit-thrush/
– and some 600 other birds at http://www.bird-sounds.net/. I like it.
Maria says
Love to hear the owl and whippoorwill.
C. Willows says
I used to have an app on a really old mobile phone that listed various birds – pics and way they sounded. I can no longer recall this specific app but there are others currently available for iPhone users (sure there are as well for Android). Search bird identification. Some are free, others range from $2.99 to I think, twenty dollars or more. Beware of how much data (gb) it will take up. Other than being free (“GET”), and possibly sucking data space, having one of these apps on your mobile might be very helpful or fun, especially if you’re interested in this.
juls says
I have an app that has songbirds music…love to play it on my porch. The birds answer. I have all the birds mentioned in my yard except the tananger.
Sheri says
Cornell University has all the bird calls on their website. In NY state.
David Benfield says
I agree with Joyce Thomas of Tn. How could you not include, or list first for that matter, the mocking bird. And you call yourselves a bird book. Shame on you.
Mark beers says
My choice for Amerisa’s songbird is the goldfinch. They are common in every state. They are willing and ready visitors to your yard-just offer sunflower or thistle seed. They are called wild canaries . What could be more musical. And, they usher in our spring with the males changing to a bright coat of yellow. Did I mention that their name is American.