Looking at Birdsong

 

 

Watch Film

To watch a short film about Looking at Birdsong, click here.

 

We can use spectrograms to see the details of a bird’s call, or even the sounds that are hard to hear. Can you think of any birds which may be difficult to hear? Or a flying mammal?

Why is it faster to look rather than hear?

When lots of different bird species sing together, like in the dawn chorus, we can see all of their songs on the spectrogram. This means they are using different pitches (frequencies). Do you think this is on purpose? What if a new species of bird arrives that sounds like a bird that is already there?

 

 

Looking and listening to Dawn Choruses

 

Dawn is the early morning, when it starts to get light. Many birds begin their day by singing at this time. In this activity, you will look and listen to the sounds of three dawn choruses - one in the city centre, one from Matairangi/Mt Victoria and one from Zealandia (Te Māra a Tāne). Match the spectrogram and the sound, to the manu or other animal or object. It may be handy to have a piece of paper and pen to note your answers down as you look and listen to the spectrograms. The answers are on the next page. Good luck!

 

City Dawn Chorus

 

These are recordings from Pōneke Wellington city centre. 

Find the matching spectrogram to the following sounds:

Blackbird Alarm call 

Sparrow cheeping

Reversing truck

Karoro (Black backed gull)

Blackbird song

Bin truck

Tūī

Truck engine

A few sparrows cheeping

 

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Matairangi Dawn Chorus

 

Find the matching spectrogram to the following sounds:

Tauhou (silvereye)

Kōtare (New Zealand kingfisher)

Tūī and riroriro (Grey warbler)

Pīwakawaka (New Zealand fantail)

Tūī alarming

Kākā and sparrow

Riroriro (Grey warbler)

Emergency siren

Dog barking

 

 

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Super Challenge Spectrogram

Look and listen to the spectrogram. How many manu can you identify? Any other sounds?

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Zealandia Dawn Chorus

 

Find the matching spectrogram to the following sounds:

Kākāriki (Red crowned parakeet)

Riroriro (Grey warbler)

Kiwi pukupuku (Little Spotted Kiwi)

Blackbird

Kākā screech

Chaffinch weep

Tūī

Pīwakawaka (New Zealand Fantail)

Rain

Kākā and toutouwai (North Island Robin)

Only toutouwai

Tīeke (saddleback) alarm

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