Wave Maker: The Bird Bible

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Wednesday, May 04, 2005

The Bird Bible

Er...

Shut out again. So let me take a moment to discuss the bible.

Not The Bible. I mean the bible of birding, Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds. My version covers birds east of the Rockies. I actually have the edition that I used when I was ten years old.

One of the pieces of information it provides is a phonetic representation of the birds' songs and calls. Since I am fixated on warblers this week, let's look at some of the more amusing (and quite on the money) descriptions:

Black-throated Green Warbler: zoo zee zoo zoo zee

Black-throated Blue Warbler: zur zur zur zree (or) beer beer beer bee

Or perhaps my favorites:

Canada Warbler: chip chuppety sweee-ditchey

Chestnut-sided Warbler: see see see Miss Beecher (or) pleased pleased pleased to meet'cha

Having first discovered these in my pre-adolsecent days, I found some of them rather embarrassing, especially when demonstrated orally by a matronly older woman at an Audubon Society gathering for beginners:

Yellow Warbler: tsee-tsee-tsee-titi-wee

Nashville Warbler: seebit seebit seebit seebit tititititititi

Blackburnian Warbler: zip zip zip titi tseeeeee (or) teetsa teetsa teetsa teetsa zizizizizizi

Some day when you are taking a moment to relax outside, take the time to listen --- really listen, to what is being said in the trees. How many different notes, phrases, tones and timbers are spoken by these little creatures. If you have the bible, look at their widely variant markings and colors. How differently they build their nests, and where they choose to build them.

And behold the miracle of random genetic mutation!

Posted by: Wave Maker / 9:25 AM/ |