Voice of the Wild

This is Illinois Extension’s Voice of the Wild. a new wild voice in just a moment, so find someplace quiet, take a deep breath, and enjoy.

This summer singer is named for the breeding male’s exceptionally blue plumage, so deep and so blue it can look black as it sings from a powerline in the shimmering heat. The female’s plumage is also exceptional; a rich fawn brown. The bird tends to stick hedgerows, forest edges, and other savannalike habitats. Their song, which they sing from sunup to sun down, is variable but tends to be composed of notes sung in pairs, often with a slight descending quality.

This is the indigo bunting, Passerina cyanea from the cardinal family Cardinalidae. Listen again to how the indigo bunting changes the tone of its two syllable phrases after each one is given. Here it is again.

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for our bird sounds. And thank you for tuning in to learn a new bird call with Illinois Extension.