Songbirds

Types of birdsong: calls and songs, click here

1. Blackbird (Turdus merula)

Features 25.5 cm long, about 90 g heavy. Male: with solid black plumage, narrow yellow ring around eye and yellow beak. Females brownish overall, dark brown above, slightly lighter brown below, mottled throat, brown bill. Young blackbirds resemble females, but more reddish brown in color and more heavily spotted.

Voice: Calls "zih" thinly. When excited,but also: when taking off and in the evening before going to sleep, you can hear a loud "tix, tix, tix" ("Tixen"). Overall, the blackbird song seems a bit melancholic.

Habitat: The blackbird used to be a pure forest bird,: today you can find them everywhere in human settlements, in gardens and watch parks. In Central Europe, the blackbird can be observed from April to October. (summer bird).

Distribution: The blackbird is distributed over large parts of Europe, southern Asia and parts of North Africa

Biology: Diet consists of snails, worms, insects, fruits and berries. Blackbirds nest in hedges and bushes on window sills and roof beams, usually just a few feet off the ground. The birds build a large nest of plant material and soil; The clutch consists of four to seven greenish-bluish eggs with dense brownish markings. Two, even three broods a year; Clutch from March.

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2. Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)

Features: 23 cm long, approx. 68 g in weight. Plain brown back, whitish-yellowish underside with longitudinal rows of black-brown dots. When flying up you can see the cream-colored underwings. Males and females are colored the same.

Voice: Calls "gick" loudly. Typical "zip" calls can also be heard from flying song thrushes. The singing is quite loud and characteristic: short motifs are repeated two to four times, then the next motif follows. The singing is therefore rhythmic. Some of the individual motifs contain imitations of other birds.

Habitat: The song thrush inhabits gardens and parks, copses and forests of all kinds. As a summer bird, it can be observed in Central Europe from February to November.

Distribution: The species is distributed across central and northern Europe and central Asia.

Biology: Song thrushes eat snails, worms, insects and spiders, and in autumn also fruits and berries. The birds nest in bushes, hedges and trees (close to the trunk). They build a strong nest out of plant material, but the hollow is smoothed out with wood mulm and clay. The female lays four to six light blue to turquoise eggs, sparsely spotted with black. clutch from April; two broods a year.

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3. Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)

Features: 14 cm long, weighs about 18 g. Greenish brownish above, ash gray underparts and sides of head, whitish belly. Underside of female brownish. The male is glossy black, the female has a reddish-brown headstock that reaches up to the eye. The blackcap lives quite hidden and usually only attracts attention when it sings.

Voice: The calls sound "täck täck"; when excited, the calls are repeated and then sound rattling. The song is a rich, fairly sustained chirp.

Habitat: The bird inhabits gardens and parks with bushes and trees, as well as conservation areas and forests with plenty of undergrowth. In Central Europe, the bird is a summer bird and can be observed from mid-March to late October.

Distribution: The species is distributed across almost the whole of Europe to Asia and parts of Northwest Africa.

Biology: The diet consists of insects, their larvae and spiders, and in autumn also berries. The nest is in dense vegetation near the ground, including in bushes.The culms used as building material are placed around the plants so that the nest is firmly anchored in the vegetation Four to six eggs; whitish, gray or brownish ground, mottled with ash gray and dark brown. One brood a year; Clutch from May.

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4. Garden warbler (Sylvia borin)

Characteristics: A 14 cm long, inconspicuous bird; 17 to 19 g heavy. The upper side is brownish in both sexes, the underside is lighter. Lead gray legs.

Voice: The lure calls sound like "täck täck täck", anxious calls like "wat wat wat". You can also hear a "tscharr". Long sustained and melodious chant.

Habitat: Inhabits deciduous and mixed forests with rich undergrowth, also copses with stepped edges, hedges and parks with trees and bushes rich in undergrowth. Despite its name, the bird is rarely found in gardens. In Central Europe the bird is a summer bird (late April to September/October).

Distribution: The garden warbler is distributed across large parts of Europe and even as far as Asia.

Biology: Insects and spiders, in late summer and autumn also berries, form the food. The nest is loosely built from stalks. It grows low to the ground in dense stands of vegetation and in bushes. The female lays three to five variably colored eggs; Ground color whitish to slightly brownish, brown and gray spots, sometimes thickened at the blunt pole. One brood, sometimes two broods a year; first clutches in mid-May.

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5. Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Features: 14 cm long, weighs about 18 g. Upper side plain olive brown, underside grey-brown; The chest, sides of the head and forehead are a rich orange color with bluish borders. Males and females colored the same. Young birds without a red throat, plumage mottled with dark brown and yellow-brown, breast with brownish shading. Appearing round. Frequently flicks tail and wings, often seen on the ground.

Voice: Call a sharp "zick", often combined with a "snicker", next to it a thin "pull". The varied, melancholic singing begins with high, sharp tones and ends with fluting and sparkling, descending passages.

Habitat: Inhabits larger gardensts, parks, deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests with undergrowth. Many robins remain in Central Europe over the winter (partial migrants) and then also appear at the feeding stations.

Distribution: The robin's distribution extends across almost all of Europe and the Near East.

Biology: Robins feed on insects, worms, snails and small animals. But they also eat berries. The nest of plant matter is built between tree roots and in other cavities. The clutch contains five to seven light-colored eggs with variable dark spots. Two broods a year; Clutches from the end of April/beginning of May.

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6. Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)

Characteristics: 16.5 cm long, 24 to 28 g in weight. An inconspicuously colored bird, but one of the best singers in Europe. Upper side uniformly brown, lower side lighter, grey-brown. tail red-brown. Both sexes colored the same.

Voice: Shouts soft "huit", when excited also rough "karr". The chant begins with a rising series of "du, du, du" calls, then gets louder and faster, ending in a sobbing blare. Sings mostly out of the bushes, both during the day and at dusk and at night.

Habitat: The nightingale can be observed in larger, overgrown gardens, cemeteries, parks with moist thickets, deciduous and mixed forests with rich undergrowth. As a summer bird, it stays in Central Europe from April to October.

Distribution: The species is distributed across central and southern Europe, the Near East and parts of Northwest Africa.

Biology: The nightingale forages on the ground. It consists of insects and their larvae, spiders, snails, worms and other small animals; also berries. The nest is built on the ground and hidden in dense, creeping bushes, in stinging nettles and similarly dense vegetation. The clutch consists of four to six olive-colored eggs. One brood a year; Clutches from early May.

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7. Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)

Characteristics: 14 cm long, 17 to 20 g in weight. Males brown on top during breeding season, rust-brown rump. Underside whitish with a conspicuous blue bib. There is a white spot in the middle of the bib, separated towards the belly by a black-white-rusty-brown band. Outside the breeding season, the throat is whitish, only a little blue. Females similar in overall coloration, but instead of the blue bib a dirty white frayed spot bordered with black.

Voice: You can hear soft "huit" calls, but also a sharp "teck". The song is varied and contains sonorous and harsh-sounding passages with built-in mimics (imitations) of the voices of other birds.

Habitat: The bluethroat inhabits bogs, thickets in wetlands and bushes on the banks of rivers and lakes. In Central Europe, the bird can be observed as a summer bird between March and October.

Distribution: The species is distributed over central and northern Europe and Asia.

Biology: The bluethroat's diet consists of insects, their larvae and other small animals, as well as berries. The cup nest of plant matter is made in dense vegetation near the ground. Full clutches contain five to seven greenish or brownish eggs. First clutches end of April; one brood a year.

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8. Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)

Characteristics: 14 cm long, 14 to 19 g in weight. Males have gray-blue upperparts and rusty-orange underparts. White forehead, black sides of head and throat; Rump and tail rusty red.Females are colored inconspicuously: grey-brown on the back, yellowish-brown underneath. With the redstarts, the upright sitting posture, the curving and the frequent trembling movements of the tail are always noticeable.

Voice: Calls "fuid" or "fuid-tekk-tekk". sonorous singing; starting with a stretched, high tone, followed by some shorter and lower tones, which also have rough tones and imitations (imitations) built into them, ending with a faint trill.

Habitat: The bird inhabits gardens, parks, fruit trees, light deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests. In Central Europe, the redstart can be observed from April to October (summer bird).

Distribution: The species is distributed across almost all of Europe and central Asia.

Biology: The diet consists of insects, their larvae and spiders. The redstart nests in burrows, both in tree cavities and in cavities in masonry, on roof beams and similar places. The clutches contain five to seven bluish-green eggs. Two broods are often reared each year; first clutches from the beginning of May.

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9. Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis)

Features: Almost 13 cm long, approx. 13 g in weight. In the breeding plumage, the male is colored in a very contrasting manner: the upper side is black, the underside is white, the collar is white, and the spots on the forehead and wings are white. Female with grey-brown upperparts and smaller wing spot, is colored much less contrastingly overall.

Voice: The song consists of short, rather high and sharp and not very fast verses, sounding like "trü-zit-trü-zit". Next to it one hears subtle "sieve" and "hiit" or "fiit" calls.

Habitat: The collared flycatcher inhabits deciduous forests, parks, cemeteries and orchards. A sufficient supply of nesting opportunities is a prerequisite. In Central Europe, the bird is a summer bird from April to September.

Distribution: The species is distributed from eastern central Europe to central Asia.

Biology: The bird almost always hunts flying insects from a vantage point. It nests in caves. A messy nest is built from blades of grass, leaves and moss. The clutch consists of three to eight monochromatic pale blue eggs. One brood a year; Clutches from May. A male can be mated to several females

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10. Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)

Characteristics: Almost 11 cm long, 8 to 10 g in weight. The willow has an olive-brown upper side and a whitish underside with a yellow tinge. He wears a yellowish eye stripe. The legs are usually light brown, but can also be dark.

Voice: Calls out two syllables "hüid". The somewhat melancholic singing is a soft-sounding cadence that ends with a typical flourish.

Habitat: The willow inhabits larger gardens and parks with trees, sparse forests and forest edges, also wet forest and riparian bushes by water bodies. From the lowlands to the high mountains.As a summer bird, the Willow Willow stays in Central Europe from April to September

Distribution: The species is distributed over large parts of central and northern Europe and Asia.

Biology: The willow eater's diet consists of insects, their larvae, spiders and, in late summer and autumn, berries. The oven nest made of grass and other plant parts is well hidden close to the ground between the plants or under low bushes. Full clutches consist of five to seven whitish eggs with fine red spots. You can find them from the beginning of May; one brood or two a year.

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11. Woodlark (Lullula arborea)

Characteristics: 15 cm long, 26 to 29 g in weight. The plumage is inconspicuously ground-colored. Somewhat conspicuous are the light stripe across the eyes that meet at the back of the head and the dark markings on the wing bow.

Voice: The calls of the woodlark can be described as a melodic "didloi" or "didli". "lülülülü" trills and a descending "lürelürelüre" are interspersed in the song. The wood ash sings from a vantage point (treetop) or performs the song in a circling song flight.

Habitat: The woodlark can be found in sandy heath areas, in wide pine heaths and at the edges of forests. Partial migrants can be observed in Central Europe from March to October.

Distribution: The bird is distributed across almost all of Europe. Northwest Africa and Asia Minor limit the distribution area in the south.

Biology: The nest is built in a depression in the ground. The female usually lays four to five eggs. They are whitish, greyish or sandy in color with brownish to purple spots and some pale spots. Clutches of the first brood are found in April, those of the second brood in May/June.

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12. Golden oriole (Oriolus oriolus)

Characteristics: 24 cm long, 68 to 75 g in weight. The males are unmistakable: they have gorgeous yellow plumage, black wings and a black colored tail with yellow corners. A wide black stripe runs from the eye to the reddish beak. The female is inconspicuously colored: greenish above, whitish-greenish below with rows of darker spots; wings and tail are dark green, tail with yellow corners; Beak reddish like male.

Voice: The full, loud flute stanzas of the song, sounding like "düdlio", betray their presence. Harsh, rasping calls are also heard when aroused.

Habitat: The oriole inhabits deciduous forests in the lowlands, but also parks with tall trees. In Central Europe, the bird is a summer bird and can be found from May to early September.

Distribution: The species is distributed across central and southern Europe to Asia and small parts of North Africa.

Biology: The bird eats insects and their larvae, and berries. It nests in tall trees. The nest is hung in horizontally grown branch forks and artfully braided. The three to four eggs are whitish-pink and finely mottled with brownish or black.One brood a year; Clutches from mid-May

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"How and where they live": download this text as a PDF here.

"Where and how they live":  this text as PDF download here..