As our cities, and even parts of the countryside, have fallen eerily silent, with traffic and aircraft a distant memory, many of us have started to notice a new sound: birdsong.
Now that spring has well and truly sprung, this is the ideal time to get to know your local birds. Spotting them is one way to identify common species, but why not try learning their songs, too? That’s not as easy as it sounds: rather like learning a foreign language, it can be pretty daunting. But with patience, time and effort, it can be done – just follow these simple steps:
1 Sit in your garden if you have one, or take your daily walk, either early in the morning or during the hour or so before sunset, when the volume and intensity of birdsong is at its peak.
2 Listen to the bird first; then try to get a good look at it, to help you identify the species.
3 Use mnemonics (see below) to help you remember which bird makes which sound.
4 Focus on only one or two species each day. Then, when you get home, listen to recordings of their songs, and when you go out the next day, try to hear them again.
5 As Bill Oddie says, think about the rhythm, tone and pitch of each song: fast or leisurely; cross or plaintive; high, low or medium pitch?
Remember, practice makes perfect – and you’ll never have a better opportunity than now!
Birds
Great tit
Sparrow-sized, with a black head, white cheeks, a green back and a black stripe down the front. It sings a syncopated “tea-cher, tea-cher” song: hence “the teacher bird”.
Blue tit
Small and perky, with blue and yellow plumage, and white cheeks. Its song is not very tuneful; it always sounds rather cross.
Long-tailed tit
Tiny and round, with a long tail sticking out behind like a flying lollipop. Makes a variety of high-pitched calls – “see-see-see” – and a soft farting sound.
Listen here to the long-tailed tit
Blackbird
In terms of appearance, the male does what it says on the tin; the female is brown. Its song is deep and fluty in tone, and very measured in pace and rhythm.
Song thrush
The classic thrush, with brown back and spotted breast. Its song consists of repeated phrases, as if the bird is conducting a one-sided conversation.
Listen here to the song thrush
Robin
Unmistakable, perky and plump with that famous red breast – both males and females. The song is delicate and measured, with each phrase followed by a pause.
Dunnock
Once called the hedge sparrow, the dunnock is dark greyish-purple and brown, with a thin bill. Its song is a rather unremarkable series of warbling notes.
Wren
Tiny, plump and chestnut-brown, with a cocked tail and short, whirring wings. The wren is amazingly loud for its size, producing a high-pitched, trilling song.
Chiffchaff
A small, slender, olive-green warbler that sings its own name: “chiff-chaff-chiff-chiff-chaff”, often pumping its tail up and down while doing so.
Blackcap
A robin-sized warbler: grey with a black cap (male) and chestnut cap (female). Its tuneful, powerful song sounds like a speeded up robin.
Goldcrest
Britain’s smallest bird, weighing the same as a 20p coin. Tiny, plump and green with a gold flash on the crown. Fast, rhythmic song.
Pied wagtail
A slender, graceful, black-and-white bird with a long, permanently wagging tail. It feeds on the ground and calls “chis-ick” in flight – hence “the Chiswick Flyover”.
Listen here to the pied wagtail
Swallow
Superbly sleek and slender bird found in rural areas, with a long, forked tail and broad, triangular wings. Light, warbling song. Back in early April.
House martin
Shorter and more compact than a swallow, the house martin is found in urban areas. Looking like a miniature killer whale, it twitters in flight. Back mid-April.
Listen here to the house martin
Swift
The swift has a cigar-shaped body and long, scythe-like wings, with all-dark plumage. Flocks tear across city skylines, screaming as they go. Back in late April or early May.
Cuckoo
The classic sound of spring, yet rarely heard nowadays, even in former haunts. It looks like a hawk: slender, long-tailed, with long, curved wings. Sings its name.
Chaffinch
The male is smart with a pink breast, grey head and white wingbars; the female has the same pattern, but lacks colour. Its song sounds like a cricketer running up to bowl, with a flourish at the end.
Goldfinch
A small, brightly coloured finch with black and buff plumage, a red face and gold flashes on the wings. Light, fast and tuneful song.
Greenfinch
The male is bright green with yellow wing flashes; the female is duller green. They produce a wheezy song, often delivered in slow, circular flight.
House sparrow
Once common, now missing from many places. The male has a grey crown and black bib; the female is duller brown. Its song has a chirpy, friendly sound, suiting its sociable nature.
Listen here to the house sparrow
Stephen Moss is an author and naturalist, who teaches an MA in travel and nature writing at Bath Spa University. His latest book is The Accidental Countryside: Hidden Havens for Britain’s Wildlife (Guardian Faber)