Episode 55: Blackpoll Warbler – Voice of the Wild

This is Brodie with Illinois Extension and I’m here with a new “voice of the wild”

This piercingly high-pitched song belongs to a warbler who is poor in color but rich in pattern. Their monochromatic black and white plumage is at its brightest during spring migration, when males even sport a fetching dark cap on head. In the fall they’re a little harder to identify, one of a handful of warblers who’s plumage reverts to a generic yellow-green, though in this bird’s case, their orange feet will still give them away.

This is the blackpoll warbler

The blackpoll warbler’s song seems to have a bit more in common with the calls of insect than it does the musical calls of their fellow warblers. Rather than a chord or progression of notes, it is a singular, very loud note sung rapidly. As we listen to the blackpoll again, note how the song tapers both in and out, putting the emphasis of the staccato song at the center - this is a key feature of the blackpoll’s song.

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for today’s sound. Learn more about voice of the wild at go.illinois.edu/VOW