The first and most obvious cooer is the familiar (and much reviled) feral pigeon. Its common sound is a low-level clucking coo. xeno-canto.org/460854#FiveBirds
Also familiar to most people will be the plumptious wood pigeon. Note its white collar, which is a good identifying mark.
The collared dove, slighter and more elegant than the wood pigeon, opts for a three-note rhythm, often likened to a football fan chanting ‘Un-i-ted – Un-i-ted’. #FiveBirdsxeno-canto.org/671545
The stock dove is less common, but do look out for their uniform grey plumage and black button eye – they sometimes hang out with their feral cousins. Their song is a two-noter. Woo-hup. xeno-canto.org/558811#FiveBirds
My rule of thumb for remembering the pigeons/doves:
Stock dove – two syllables in the name, two notes in the song
Collared dove – three syllables, three notes
Bloody wood pigeon – five syllables, five notes
Our final coo-er is also a cuck-er. Sadly, the cuckoo’s evocative sound, once ubiquitous, is in many places a thing of the past. xeno-canto.org/447343#FiveBirds
1. Nuthatch. And already the 'Seven Birds' thing is ruined, because the nuthatch makes enough sounds for about ten different species. Here's one of the common ones. xeno-canto.org/235146
I am a bit of an old fart, by which I mean I reckon it’s more fun learning the birdsong for yourself than having an app hand you the answer on a plate.
But I’ve always said that the technology behind things like BirdNet is amazingly sophisticated. Birdsong is complex. And the sounds birds make vary from individual to individual.
Morning everyone. Something a bit different for #TwitterBirdsong today. With spring really getting going, here are ten birds to listen out for. #TenBirds
1. Blackbird. Rich and varied and probably standing on top of a tree near you right now, singing its heart out.