Originally published March 23, 2021. Updated: March 27, 2024.

The vernal equinox marks the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, when the sun’s rays strike the earth’s equator perpendicularly, the sun rises due east and sets due west, and there are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. From this point until the summer solstice, the proportion of daylight hours in the 24-hour day, or photoperiod, increases.

Increasing photoperiod stimulates changes in hormone levels in the bloodstream of songbirds, which drives many seasonal behaviors associated with migration, courtship, mating, parenting, aggression, and territoriality.

One obvious change is the striking increase in how frequently and emphatically songbirds deliver their namesake vocalization, birdsong.

One of the reasons spring is my favorite season is the return of birdsong ringing out across the sunny Central Oregon landscape.

While simply beautiful to our ears, birdsong has a variety of important and complex functions in communication among different species of birds. Often the message communicated is primarily intersexual in nature, between male and female – in courtship and maintaining the pair bond.

Often the message communicated is more intrasexual, between different males – in aggression or defending a territory.

*Western Meadowlark, Gregg Thompson, BirdNote*

Some birdsong surely conveys both categories of intent. At the risk of oversimplification and anthropomorphism, these melodic notes may actually carry messages to the effect of, “Hey baby, how about it?” or, quite the reverse, “Stay off my turf, bub.”

One of the greatest attractions to birding is that, both as a generality and relative to other classes of vertebrates, birds are easier to see and hear – they openly advertise, often with colors, markings, displays, and vocalizations. By contrast, instead of birdwatching, try going out “small mammal-watching” sometime.

Nearly all birders have favorite bird songs, though most also have difficulty narrowing their lists and ranking their favorites.

Can you identify birdsong?

Here are a half dozen common and beautiful bird songs that we will start to hear now in springtime, depending on where you are around Central Oregon. I’ll bet you recognize a few (click “Listen”):

House Finch

Haemorhous mexicanus

Song Sparrow

Melospiza melodia

Mourning Dove

Zenaida macroura

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

House Wren

Troglodytes aedon

Western Meadowlark

Sturnella neglecta

Learning to identify birds by their vocalizations is challenging and fun. I have found that for me, the most indelible impression is left by seeing and hearing the bird simultaneously in its natural habitat. Watching a Western Meadowlark, with its bright gold underside streaked across with a bold black chest band, perched on a juniper tilting its head back slightly, suddenly whistle its evocative song out over its sunny grassland habitat, leaves a permanent memory.

About the author

Nathan Hovekamp moved to Bend in 1997. He has a B.S. in biology, an M.S. in zoology, and a Ph.D. in education, and experience in college biology instruction, natural interpretation, and environmental conservation. He serves on the Deschutes County Planning Commission and the Bend Park and Recreation District board. He has previously served on the City of Bend Planning Commission, the Bend-La Pine School Board, and the Bend Park and Recreation’s citizen advisory committee for Riley Ranch Nature Reserve. He served on the Central Oregon LandWatch board from 2014 to 2016 and was Central Oregon LandWatch’s legislative liaison and naturalist from 2016 to 2023.

*Red-winged Blackbird by Drew Weber, eBird*

Songbirds & Habitat Conservation

Protection and stewardship of wildlife habitat, such as that led by Central Oregon LandWatch, helps assure birdsong will continue to ring out across the Oregon high desert. Learn more about our current wildlife conservation efforts with Oregon's national forests and the Deschutes River.

Support wildlife habitat conservation

Cover photo. Song Sparrow by StevenMlodinow, eBird.

Spring Birdsong in Central Oregon