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Our forests are brimming with bird song - there is indeed something to listen to. A series of simple everyday introductions of forest birds follows here, to make it easier to identify the birds by ear. The birds can be looked up on one single page, and compared.

The list of birds to be introduced is in the right-hand column in the table below.

 

Chifff-chaff	Väike-lehelind	Phylloscopus collybita

The first chiff-chaffs arrive already in the middle of April. They nest in forests, wooded meadows and parks. The female builds the round nest on the ground in the grass or in low branches, some 0,3-0,9 m from the ground. The song is simple, monotonously dripping (“the milker“), “tsilp-tsalp-tsilp-tsalp ...“ or  “tsint-tsent-tsent-tsint-tsänt ...“. In the morning the chiff-chaff starts singing about half an hour before sunrise, sometimes even after that, in the evenings the song ceases before sunset.

 

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Tree pipit	Metskiur	Anthus trivialis

 

The tree pipit usually arrives in Estonia at the end of April. It is a common ground nester in sparse pine forests, forest verges and clearings, wooded meadows and parks. It starts singing about one hour before sunrise in the morning, after the thrushes and the robin; in the evening the song fades away  already a few hours before sunset. The tree pipit can be heard until early July. It generally keeps to the ground but sings from tree tops, and also in flight. In mating flight it rises into the air from a branch and begins singing on descending; the song stops when it lands on a branch. The contact call of the tree pipit is a drawn-out "tsiih“, the alarm call near the chicks is a loud "tsilp, tsilp“.

 

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Redwing thrush	Vainurästas	Turdus iliacus

The redwing can be heard from April, when it comes to Estonia, until early July. Young birds may do their singing exercises at later dates too. The redwing nests in deciduous tree stands and fresh spruce forests. Its song is particularly intense in early morning. It starts singing already in the twilight, as early as two hours before sunrise. The song  is characteristically in two parts: starting with resounding, far-reaching whistling phrases and ending on a more subdued note with half-whistling creakings reminding of the fieldfare.

 

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Robin	Punarind	Erithacus rubecula

The robin, smaller than a sparrow, sings most intensely during twilight – in the mornings as one of the first birds, ending at sunrise and starting again an hour and a half before sunset. It stops singing in the evenings about an hour after sunset, together with the thrushes. Robins starts singing at once after their arrival – in the second half of April – ending in the later half of July. The song begins with a very rapid high-pitched silvery twitter, followed by a characteristic falling pearl-like cadence – ”like little silver drops rolling down a row of glass steps”. The alarm call of the robin is a ticking sound repeated as long as the disturber remains nearby.

 

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Song thrush	Laulurästas	Turdus philomelos

The loud, clear song of the song thrush consists of different fluting phrases, each repeated 2-5 times. It is a good characteristic to set it apart from other thrushes. Its song is particularly expressive, with a wide tonal range and stressing certain phrases.The song thrush starts singing already in the dark as the first bird in the forest, up to a couple of hours before sunrise. In daytime it sings less frequently, again becoming livelier at sundown, and singing goes on up to 2 hours after sunset. The song thrush is a forest bird and prefers spruce stands as habitat. The song below was recorded in an spruce forest, almost like an open-air cathedral, near Roiu in Tartumaa

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Wren	Käblik	Troglodytes troglodytes

 

The wren is a goldcrest-sized forest bird, who clambers around in forest brushwood and windfalls. For singing it flies up on a tree stump or any other spot that sticks out. Its surprisingly loud and dashing song begins about an hour before sunrise, goes on during the day and lasts until evening twilight an hour after the sunset. In spring it begins singing in April and stops in July, some wrens sing continuously until the beginning of August. The contact call is a sharp "tsik-tsik-tsik", the warning call a clatter that can sound continuously for up to half a minutet.

 

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Chaffinch	Metsvint	Fringilla coelebs

In spring chaffinches arrive here at the end of March or beginning of April. We hear them singing from their arrival onwards until the second half of July. The chaffinch is the most numerous song bird in areas with stands of trees everywhere and it isn’t shy of humans. It starts singing 25-45 minutes before sunrise and stops already before sunset. The song of the chaffinch is a falling row of notes, very similar to the song of the willow warbler. The similarity is particularly great when the chaffinch omits the loud "tikk" call at the end of its song. The contact call (and also the warning call) is a loud metallic-sounding "pink", very similar to the contact call of the great tit. During the breeding period the male birds gently call "rüüt". The „vocabulary“ of chaffinches is quite large and the significance of all their calls is not quite clear.

 

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Blackbird	Musträstas	Turdus merula

We can hear the beautiful song of the blackbird from April to mid-July. In the morning it begins about one hour before sunrise, stops in the evenings 40-55 minutes after sunset. The blackbird nests in fresh deciduous forests and wetland forests, and sings sitting motionless in the top of the tree. The song is varied, slow and tranquil. It sounds similar to the song of the mistle thrush but the latter only nests in pine forests.

 

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Jay	Pasknäär	Garrulus glandarius

 

The jay is the policeman of the forest, warning both its own species and others of dangers by loud screeching. It is particularly noisy in the autumn when the acorns are ripening and it is busy with ”planting” nuts and acorns. During the nesting period it doesn’t reveal itself, even the song is quiet and doesn’t carry far. As a gifted imitator the jay manages to garnish its song with tens of different bird sounds, and not only their calls and song cadences.

 

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Treecreeper	Porr	Certhia familiaris

The treecreeper is a brown-speckled little bird that moves in a spiral up along a tree trunk searching for insects in crevices in the tree bark with its slightly downwards-bent beak. It isn’t particularly shy of people. Its call is a high-pitched fine whistle. The song starts with 2 or 3 thin „tsii-s“, goes on with a twittering "row of pearls“ on a falling pitch, at the end there is always a whistle-like "tsüihh“. You can hear the song already in January, and it sings regularly from the middle of March until the end of April. Habitat is spruce forests and mixed spruce forests.

 

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Greater spotted woodpecker	Suur-kirjurähn	Dendrocopos major

The great spotted woodpecker is our most frequently heard and encounteret woodpecker. It often reveals its presence with a sharp  "kik" call. The drumming is generally brief and rapid, with 6-7 taps. For nesting it chooses deciduous trees but it is not very  particular with regard to habitat. As a supportive species the woodpeckers create nest hollows for other hollow nesters  in forests.

 

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Goldcrest

Pöialpoiss

Regulus regulus

The goldcrest is the tiniest bird in Estonia and in Europe. It has a very thin voice. The song, reminding of a violin, is so high-pitched that older people cannot hear it. The goldcrest’s song can be heard in CONIFEROUS and MIXED FORESTS. It usually keeps to the crowns of high spruces. In the mornings it begins singing 30-50 minutes before sunrise, in the evening it stops already some time before sunset. The last ones singing can be heard in the second half of July or in August, even in September in exceptional cases. The call resembles the corresponding call of tits.

 

Kõrv loodusesse: Goldcrest

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The great tit stays in Estonia during the whole year. As the first bird it opens the spring season with its song: already in January its rhythmic ”sawing”  begins; towards spring changing into the typical gaily sounding song „tsitsifüü tsitsifüü ...“ („sitsikleit sitsikleit“). (from the book, ”Eesti laululinnud – Estonian songbirds” by Rootsmäe and Veroman pp 215-216). Some individuals can imitate other birds. The register of calls is similarly very varied. Up to 50 different calls have been noted for the great tit. In the morning the great tit begins singing up to one hour before sunrise and stops in the evening a little after sunset.