Voice of the Wild

Barred owl ( Strix varia ). The dark-eyed owl with a goofy call, a quirky history, and a penchant for bottomland forests.  Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. We’re available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  Subscription links Here   Subscribe to the Newslett...

Is the American Robin really the first harbinger of spring? In this episode I talk about the partially-migratory American Robin and why so many folks seem to think it disappears for the winter. This is an isolated segment of an upcoming bonus episode about the earliest and most reliable signs of spring. Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild eve...

Great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus ). The quintessential “whooo” owl call belongs to the Great horned owl, North America’s most widespread owl species. The haunting duet of a pair of Great Horned Owls can be heard in the late night and early morning hours of mid to late winter. Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a ne...

The Black-capped and Carolina chickadee’s range only barely intersects, so identification is typically as easy as finding out which side of the line you are on. Unfortunately, for those within a few tens of miles of the line, a confident ID may not be possible.  The following paper contains a map showing the location of the hybrid zone:  https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5497   Do you want to learn mor...

Red-tailed hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis ).  One of the largest and most common raptors in North America and a common sight along highways, especially in winter.  Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. We’re available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  Subscription lin...

Yellow-Rumped Warbler ( Setophaga coronata ). One of the few wood warblers that can be found in the Midwest during winter. Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. We’re available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  Subscription links Here   Subscribe to the Newslett...

Red-headed woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus ). The only midwestern woodpecker with a head that’s red from nape to throat.  Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. We’re available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  Subscription links Here   Subscribe to the N...

American Tree Sparrow ( Spizelloides arborea ). The quintessential winter sparrow and a reminder that, even after the leaves have fallen and the prairies turned gray and brown, there’s wildlife to hear in Illinois.  Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. We’re available on most podcast platforms, includi...

Golden-crowned kinglet ( Regulus satrapa ). The golden-crowned kinglet is one of our smallest birds and their sweet, high call is one of winter’s delights.  Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. We’re available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  Subscription link...

Pine siskin ( Spinus pinus ).  An unassuming winter visitor with a strongly ascending call.  Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. We’re available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  Subscription links Here   Subscribe to the Newsletter   Listen online on our Homepage     The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were...

Dark-eyed junco ( Junco hyemalis ).  Fleeing the chill of the arctic winter, the junco arrives in the Midwest just as our winds get brisk and the leaves start turning. Look for their little pale bill and white-edged tail as they pick beneath birdfeeders and flit around winter woodlands, cemeteries, and parks.  Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the W...

White-throated sparrow ( Zonotrichia albicollis ).  A big sparrow with unexpected biology and an easy song mnemonic. Look for the yellow spot just ahead of its eye, the namesake white throat, and white or tan stripes over the head. The white-throated sparrow arrives in the fall and is common throughout the winter and into early spring.  Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect...

White-crowned sparrow ( Zonotrichia leucophrys ).  A handsome winter visitor with a crisp cap and a sweet whistle. Look for them starting in October in undisturbed brushy habitats and neighborhoods with good, shrubby cover. While the white-crowned sparrow has different regional dialects, the ones found in the Midwest should sound similar to the primary song and call at the beginning of the episode...

Eastern Bluebird ( Sialia sialis ).  The beloved Eastern Bluebird is a conservation success story that shows the huge impact of dedicated conservation and stewardship actions. The bird’s musical and somewhat variable churring can be heard in scrubby meadows and forest clearings, especially when there are dead snags with old woodpecker holes present (or well-kept birdhouses.)  Do you want to learn...

Cedar Waxwing ( Bombycilla cedrorum ).  The Cedar Waxwing’s high-pitched call is often heard coming from hungry flocks visiting a local stand of fruit-bearing trees. Look out for their crisp black mask, strong yellow stripe at the end of their tail, and their courtship display of passing a berry back and forth!  Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the...

Belted Kingfisher ( Megaceryle alcyon ).  A kingfisher perched along the edge of a lake or stream is a common sight for anglers – besides perching, the kingfisher can also hover a few meters above the surface of the water as it watches for little fish. While you’re listening for their clattering call, keep an eye out for the females; they’re the ones with the orange band across their chest.  Do yo...

Greater Anglewing, ( Microcentrum rhombifolium ). Appropriately named, the greater anglewing has curiously rhombus-shaped wingcovers. These clicking insects emerge a few weeks after the common true katydids and add a strange stone-tapping sound to the grinding chorus of other night singers.  Thank you to Wil Hershberger for letting us use the insect calls from SongsofInsects.com.  Do you want to l...

Dog-day cicada ( Neotibicen canicularis ).  While canicularis is the insect most associated with the “dog-day” name, that common name is shared by several species. If the northern dog-day cicada doesn’t sound like what you learned as the dog day cicada, check out episode 15 on Neotibicen pruinosis; that’s the one I learned to call dog-day cicada in central Illinois. https://voiceofthewild.transist...

Morning Cicada ( Neotibicen tibicen ).  As the name suggests, this insect sings only in the morning. It begins its rattling broadcast just after the late summer sun has cooked the cool of the night out of the low vegetation it tends to prefer. This cicada has blueish wings, a dark body, and a notably humped back. It is known to have an affinity for swampy areas – in fact, another common name for i...

American Goldfinch ( Spinus tristis ).  The American goldfinch’s jumbled song is a staple of warm mornings and hot summer afternoons. In the cold months they visit hanging finch feeders, the drooping heads of last year’s sunflowers, and sometimes join in with Pine siskins foraging in sycamore and sweetgum trees. Listen for their “perchicory” or “potato chip” flight call as you go about your day! ...

Indigo Bunting ( Passerina cyanea ).  While the Indigo Bunting is named for the breeding male’s exceptionally blue plumage, the female’s plumage is also exceptional; a rich fawn brown. Look for the Indigo Bunting in hedgerows, forest edges, and other savannalike habitats. Their song is generally sang in multiple phrases, each two notes long.  Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and i...

Field Sparrow ( Spizella pusilla ).  The Field Sparrow perseveres even when oppressive heat drives all the other birds to silence. Some remember the field sparrow’s song as a ping-pong ball dropped on a table. If the Field Sparrow isn’t calling, look for the its rusty cap and long tail if you’re too far away to see its characteristic pink-bill.  Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, an...

Gray Catbird ( Dumetella carolinensis ).  A mimid, this slate-gray bird copies from its neighbors and sings a mishmash of the whole neighborhood’s songs all from one spot. The Gray catbird is a bit of a lurker, often sticking to the low brush and the back of thickets. Listen out for the meow-like call for which it is named!  Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join...

House wren ( Troglodytes aedon ).  The House wren adds brightness to backyards, woods, and urban forests with its bubbly song that seems to stumble over its own urgency. The house wren can be found in Illinois from spring to fall. A small but bold nester, it takes readily to birdhouses in backyards but will also make do in much smaller and more wild spaces.  Do you want to learn more bird songs, f...

Scissor Grinder Cicada ( Neotibicen pruinosus ).  The scissor grinder’s name was a little more appropriate when it was common practice to sharpen cutting implements with a specialty grinding stone, now the name is a bit anachronistic. Unlike the small, orange-winged periodical cicadas, the Scissor Grinder Cicada can be heard every year. In Illinois, it emerges a little after the summer solstice an...