Identify bird by its call

July 3, 2005 9:29 PM

I am trying to identify a bird by its call.

The bird, which has a range that includes the Pacific Northwest (where I keep encountering it) has a call that goes pi-PEE-byoo (Rhymes with "McPreview"). I have never seen the bird, but it is found in suburban, rural, and wilderness settings; never in the city.

posted by jimfl to science & nature (3 comments total)

I suggest checking out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All about Birds Web site. Although you can't search by sound or geography, you can browse many species of birds. Each bird "bio" includes a sound clip of the bird's song (as well as a phonetic spelling of the sound) and a map that shows the bird's range.
posted by AlexanderBanning at 11:00 PM on July 3, 2005

My money is on the Olive-sided Flycatcher. I used to band birds in the Pacific Northwest and about the only call I remember is that one because I heard it all the time, and it was described as "quick THREE beers", which is too cool to forget.
posted by stefanie at 12:49 AM on July 4, 2005

Maybe a quail?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 1:08 AM on July 4, 2005