Brooklyn Bird Club: How to Study and Memorize Bird Songs (and Just About Anything Else)

Identifying the warblers and other species singing in the field is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying aspects of birding. However, trying to learn and remember the important ID points of bird vocalizations can be difficult and sometimes very frustrating.

This lecture with the Brooklyn Bird Club will cover many new techniques that make it easier to identify singing birds. Based on the system outlined in The Warbler Guide, the lecture will also explain how understanding a song’s structure, using objective, easy-to-hear song qualities, can speed up the identification process and make separating similar-sounding species much easier.

Learning and remembering songs is another important skill for birders. The lecture will also cover the science of memory and learning, and outline a simple, 3-step system that works very effectively for memorizing bird vocalizations and anything else you’d like to remember!

Tom Stephenson has been birding since he was a kid under the tutelage of Dr. Arthur Allen of Cornell University. His articles and photographs are in museums and many publications including Birding, Birdwatcher’s Digest, Handbook of the Birds of the World, Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Birds of Madagascar, and Guide to the Birds of SE Brazil. He was profiled in Nautilus Magazine and has written on memorization and song learning for the National Audubon Society.