When writing about the sounds that birds make, there are a few key things to keep in mind. First, it’s important to listen carefully and try to capture the exact quality of the sound. Birds make a huge variety of calls, songs, and noises, so you want to describe each one as accurately as possible.
Mimicking bird sounds
One technique is to try to mimic the sound in writing. For example, a crow’s caw could be written as “caw caw.” The double repetition of the sound tries to recreate the raspy, repetitive nature of a crow’s call. Other examples are writing a duck’s quack as “quack quack” or an owl’s hoot as “hoo hoo.”
When mimicking sounds, think about elements like:
- Length – is it a short chirp or an extended song?
- Pitch – is it a high pitched tweet or a low croaking?
- Quality – are there any distinctive textures like trills, warbles, or rattles?
- Rhythm – is it a single note or a series of the same sound?
Here are some examples of mimicking bird sounds:
- Chickadee: “chick-a-dee-dee”
- Wren: “te-te-te-te”
- Warbler: “sweeet sweeet sweeet”
- Vulture: “sssssss”
- Woodpecker: “thwack thwack”
Describing the sound
In addition to mimicry, you can also describe the sound using vivid descriptive language. For example:
- “The deep, booming hoot of the great horned owl vibrated through the forest.”
- “The northern cardinal’s song was a rich, melodic series of whistling notes.”
- “The western meadowlark’s flute-clear call cascaded up and down the scale.”
When describing sounds, adjectives like harsh, raspy, piercing, melodious, whistling, popping, screeching, rumbling, chirping, and trilling can help convey the unique auditory experience.
Combining mimicry and description
You can also combine mimicking the sound with description for a very vivid effect. For example:
- “The eastern screech owl let out its eerie, tremolo hoot – a haunting, bouncing series of notes, almost like a bouncing ball going “boo-bounces-hoo.”
- “The American crow’s nasal caw – a rough, low-pitched “cawww” – grated loudly above the tranquil marsh.”
This helps the reader imagine the sound by giving them a verbal mimicry and also reinforcing it with strong description.
Using action verbs
Verbs are also very effective at conveying bird vocalizations. You can use words that imply sounds, like:
- Chirp, sing, hoot, caw, screech, squawk, twitter, whistle, chatter
Here are some examples of using action verbs:
- “The chickadee chirped cheerfully from a nearby birch.”
- “Mourning doves cooed softly at dawn, their hollow-sounding call rising peacefully over the valley.”
- “Steller’s jays squawked noisily as they chased each other between the pines.”
Context and meaning
It also helps to provide context about the sound to hint at its meaning and purpose. For example:
- “Cardinals burst into joyful song to attract mates and proclaim territory.”
- “The eerie wail of the loon echoed mournfully across the lake at sunset.”
This gives the reader insight into why and when birds vocalize in certain ways.
Quoting birders
When writing about unusual or hard-to-describe bird sounds, quoting expert birders can be helpful. For example:
- “Legendary birder Roger Tory Peterson described the woodcock’s aerial display sound as a ‘weird, nasal peent.'”
- “Peterson referred to the uncommon yellow rail’s vocalization as a ‘soft, tick-teck teck-teck.'”
This lets readers interpret a sound through the ears of an experienced birding authority.
Comparisons
When a sound is very unique, comparing it to more familiar sounds can give the reader an approximation of what it’s like. For example:
- “The sora’s whinny resembles a soft, drawn-out horse’s neigh.”
- “The plumbeous vireo’s song is like a hoarse house wren, with a burry, hacking quality.”
Comparisons like these can create an accessible reference point, even for unusual birds.
Recording the sounds
When writing in digital media, audio recordings or video of the bird vocalizing can help readers directly experience the sound. Many online birding resources embed sounds and calls right into articles about bird species. Hearing an actual recording can strongly reinforce written descriptions of the sounds.
Conclusion
Mimicking bird vocalizations, using vivid descriptive language, employing strong action verbs, providing contextual details, quoting bird experts, making comparisons, and linking to audio recordings can all help effectively convey birds’ amazing array of sounds. Pay close attention, be imaginative in your word choice, and give readers a sense of the sounds’ tone and meaning.