17 April 2026

Do you need a break from stress and pressure? This 4-minute video will sooth your day.

Listen to the special songs we hear in southwestern Pennsylvania in mid-April as migratory birds sing on their way north. Recorded by Lesley the Bird Nerd in late May or very early June 2025 in Ontario, Canada, the singers have arrived at their destination. (Note: American crow is always here; bluejay is silent in the video.)

I used Merlin to confirm the songs and listed the species’ current status in our area.

• White-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) — about to depart
• Black-throated green warbler (Setophaga virens) — early birds have just arrived
• Ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula) — they’re here and loud!
• Yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata) — early birds have just arrived
• Red-breasted nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) — all are gone, except for a couple of individuals
• American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) — always here

Note that Merlin does not acknowledge songs that “cannot occur” at the location where it is listening so there may be additional birds that I cannot hear and Merlin is ignoring.

Bonus information:

Why is birdsong so soothing? See 5 reasons why.

For instance, a study in 2022 investigated the effect of urban (traffic noise) vs. natural (birdsongs) soundscapes on mood, anxiety, paranoia.

295 participants were exposed to one out of four conditions for 6 minutes: traffic noise low, traffic noise high, birdsong low, and birdsong high diversity soundscapes. Before and after the exposure, participants performed a [cognitive] task and filled out depression, anxiety, and paranoia questionnaires. The traffic noise soundscapes were associated with a significant increase in depression… Concerning the birdsong conditions, depression exclusively decreased after exposure to the high diversity soundscape. Anxiety and paranoia significantly decreased in both birdsong conditions [low and high].

— Nature: Birdsongs alleviate anxiety and paranoia in healthy participants

16 April 2026

Who’s singing now? In mid April we hear the usual suspects — American robin, northern cardinal, house finch, song sparrow — but there are new additions to the soundscape.

Ruby-crowned kinglets (Corthylio calendula) are passing through for a couple of weeks on their way to their breeding grounds in Canada.

They’re almost hyper-active as they flit and flutter to glean insects, making “jit” contact calls and pausing to belt out their rolling song. Sometimes they sing when challenging another kinglet, in which case they both raise their ruby crowns (photo at top).

Did you know that ruby-crowns are not closely related to other the kinglets? In 2021 they were moved to a genus of their own.

Chipping sparrows (Spizella passerina) are back in town and singing their dry, rapid trill from prominent perches in the trees.

When you hear the song, look for a sparrow with a rusty cap, eyeline and clear breast. He’s smaller than a song sparrow.

Eastern towhees (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) leave southwestern Pennsylvania for the winter so it’s a sure sign of spring when we hear “che-wink” and “Drink Your Teaeeeeee” coming from the thickets.

The male towhee perches prominently when he sings. The female tends to skulk.

Their songs may have regional accents. The recording by Aidan Place in 2020, below, is typical of the rapid condensed song we hear at Frick Park. It’s different from the one in Ontario above.

Some northern flickers (Colaptes auratus) are here year round but they’re not noticeable until spring when they hammer loudly and call like a “Jungle Bird.”

Loud is Good. Metal is the best.

p.s. The flicker in the video looks different from ours because he’s the red-shafted subspecies found in western North America. (This one is in Vancouver, BC, Canada.) The top of the bird is similar to our yellow-shafted flicker except for face and red moustache. However the underside is red where ours are yellow. Click here to see.

13 March 2026

Spring songbird migration has barely begun but some sparrows already arrived. Here are 15 sparrow songs to look forward to.

Pittsburghers: My table below the video tells you when they’ll arrive in southwestern Pennsylvania. Fingers crossed for a fox sparrow soon.

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