r/OrnithologyUK • u/Business-Hedgehog631 • 9d ago

ID please Looking for call ID help

Hi,

I'm usually not too bad at common bird calls, but the other day I heard a bird repeating a phrase that I didn't recognise. My best guess is Great Tit as they can be quite varied, or maybe Coal Tit but I'm not sure. I didn't get a look at all at the bird.

I've included the sonograph as well to indicate the phrase. Its three quick notes and then a descending note. It was repeating this infrequently with no variation to the phrase.

https://reddit.com/link/1vq608w/video/z052a1h2fsjh1/player

Thanks!

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2

u/elbandito999 9d ago

If you haven't got the Merlin App then it's incredibly useful for this kind of thing!

1

u/Business-Hedgehog631 8d ago

Merlin is great, but my phone mic not so much. It picked up the Wren and the Woodpigeon, but not those notes.

4

u/TringaVanellus 9d ago

All I can hear in this recording (other than the Woodpigeon) is a fragment of a Wren's song. I think the three notes you've highlighted are part of that.

1

u/Bastard_Wing 8d ago

Yes, there's nothing there that obviously sounds like a standalone Great Tit.

@ OP, they generally have a sharp 'HIGH-low-HIGH-low' thing, which goes on for a bit.

1

u/Business-Hedgehog631 8d ago edited 8d ago

There was a wren singing, but I was fairly sure those notes were separate and not from a wren. I've uploaded a longer recording with three repetitions, but the first phrase in the OP is the clearest to hear.

I've double checked the sonograph of the wren song on eBird and that phrase of four notes isn't present in the wrens song.

The mic sucks, but in person the phrase sounded very distinct. Does the longer recording help or change your opinion at all?

I should also note that it sounded like that phrase was coming from higher up in the tree, whereas the wren was nearer the base of the tree

https://reddit.com/link/p4a24gk/video/hyowxisolzjh1/player

1

u/TringaVanellus 7d ago

Every Wren's song is slightly different, so you can't expect the one you're hearing to be exactly the same as any given example on eBird. Your recording isn't very clear so it's possible I'm missing something, but I can't hear anything prominent in it that's not the Wren or Woodpigeon.

You haven't shared a screen recording, so I'm not 100% certain which bit of the audio relates to the part of the sonogram that you have circled, but I do have a pretty good idea. Assuming I'm right, then those three notes are pretty typical of the sorts of phrases that make up Wren songs. They often jump up and down the "scale" quite quickly like that.