Bird Songs

Hey Storyers!

Here’s another EshChallenge for you.

Have you noticed how smart Duggan is about birds and bird calls? A bird flies past her and she knows what kind of bird it is. Or she has a good guess. Another bird sings from a tree and she will know what kind of bird is making that song.

Believe it or not, many humans of our planet are just as smart about birds. From its size, colors, and shape, they can tell a sparrow from a warbler. They know what a mallard looks like. When they go out for a walk, they hear a bird song and just like Duggan, they can tell you if it’s the song of a chickadee or a mourning dove.

Want to try your own experiment? First, pick a bird that’s common around your home. You will need to do some online research if you don’t know. Maybe it’s a cardinal or a robin, a white-throated sparrow or a blue jay, a mourning dove or a starling. Once you’ve found a bird or two, study its picture to remember how it looks. Then find a recording of its song or call online. Listen to the song for a dozen times or so, until you know it well. 

Then start listening! When you’re sitting in your bedroom window or walking in your neighborhood or hanging around outside your school building, keep listening! One of these times, you’re going to hear your bird’s song. Look around. Maybe you will see the bird in a tree or on a phone line. Or on the roof of a house. You can watch it sing. And even if you can’t find your bird, just think. From its song, you will know there’s a cardinal nearby.

If that was fun, try learning the songs and calls of other birds. Get to know what the birds look like. Just like Duggan in her world, you will become a kind of Woodsy Troll in yours, with a greater knowledge of nature than many of your friends.