Voice of the Wild

This is Illinois Extension’s Voice of the Wild. Our birdsong will start in five seconds, so find someplace quiet, take a deep breath, and enjoy.

It's easy to get a look at this warbler, as it prefers to mingle in mixed flocks on the ground. You might mistake it for a sparrow at first, but it bobs its tail as it forages and it has yellow on its face and rump. In the spring, adults have a chestnut colored cap. This warbler sounds a little like a chipping sparrow, but you can tell it's different because of how buzzy it is. It almost sounds digital. This is the Palm warbler, Setophaga palmarum from the family of wood warblers, Parulidae. Let's hear that buzzy song one more time.

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