I’m inclined to think this is a dark-eyed junco singing. At least that’s what I’d think if I heard that where I live, and I think DEJUs should also live where you made this recording. But it’s possible there’s some other species I don’t know that sounds similar.
Nope. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. It’s a chipping sparrow. Which I have heard, and even have heard in the eastern Sierra not far from Great Basin National Park, so I should have known better. But I don’t hear them a lot, and I was being lazy. Apologies.
How I figured it out: I actually looked at the video, and realized I could see the bird. Not particularly well, but well enough to be pretty sure it wasn’t a dark-eyed junco. So I tried playing the recording for Merlin Sound ID, which initially had no suggestions, but when I updated the location of the recording to Nevada it immediately suggested chipping sparrow.
I’m inclined to think this is a dark-eyed junco singing. At least that’s what I’d think if I heard that where I live, and I think DEJUs should also live where you made this recording. But it’s possible there’s some other species I don’t know that sounds similar.
Check out my illustration in this month’s issue of The Wildlife Professional! This was done for an essay by Bob Wilkerson and Rodney Siegel which discusses the absolutely crucial role that giant sequoias play in the lives of wildlife – including providing nest sites for the endangered California Condor.
