What is this bird?

February 8, 2022 7:08 PM

I was outside today and heard a bird call I haven't heard before.

Here's a brief recording of the call.

This was in Pittsburgh, PA, if it helps. I couldn't see the actual bird, unfortunately.

posted by cozenedindigo to Pets & Animals (5 answers total)

Best answer: I ran that audio through the astonishing Merlin smartphone app and it said Carolina Chickadee. The Wikipedia article indicates that Pittsburgh is just outside its range, but, well, AGW ...
posted by intermod at 7:17 PM on February 8, 2022

Best answer: I ran that recording by... whoop. What intermod said.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Carolina_Chickadee/sounds

Sounds like your bird!
posted by rhooke at 7:18 PM on February 8, 2022

Response by poster: Thanks folks! Off to download that app now.
posted by cozenedindigo at 7:21 PM on February 8, 2022

I think it's more likely a black-capped chickadee both because of the range and because they are more likely to give a simple two-note song, but they can be hard to tell apart.
posted by drlith at 7:22 PM on February 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

It might be black-capped but there have been multiple Carolina chickadee sightings in the general area this year - ebird.org is a good site for figuring out if the bird you think you're seeing or hearing is likely in your area, in some cases better than range maps because you can look up actual sighting data. It's by the same organization as the Merlin app.
posted by macfly at 8:44 PM on February 8, 2022 [2 favorites]