About the Author: Diana Doyle authors Birding magazine’s popular—and tremendously useful—“Tools of the Trade” column. A former university professor, Diana now whiles away her days a boat that always seems to take her to the most improbable of places. Last time I actually talked to her, for example, she was in the Texas panhandle. Go figure.
When she’s not conducting SeaBCs and filing copy for Birding, Diana and husband Mark Doyle write books about boating and navigating.
—Ted Floyd
Hic! Three Beers! by Diana Doyle
In the May/June 2013 issue of Birding (“Hic! Three Beers!—Bird Song Apps,” pp. 56–59), I compare several apps that include bird songs and calls. Throughout my review, there are references to transliterations of bird songs—all of which included the word “beer.”
Birds and beer? Sharon Stiteler, a.k.a. Birdchick, began a trend of monthly social gatherings she calls “Birds and Beers.” That seems doubly appropriate, given how many bird songs we remember with a beer mnemonic.
Can you identify the six species of birds that match the beer-related transliterations from the article?
Do you know other transliterations for these species? Do you personally rely on transliterations to remember bird songs? Do you use transliterations to teach others bird songs? Do we feel compelled to put bird songs into words because our own language is words? Please comment below.
All recordings are from the magnificent Xeno-Canto website. Click on the recordings below, then scroll down for the answers to each track’s identity and recordist.
Beer, beer, little bit PLEASE!
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Hic! THREE beers!
Olive-sided Flycatcher.
Recorded by © Eric DeFonso. Antelope Valley, Sierra County, California; 21 June 2012.
Xeno-Canto catalog no. XC131569
Chuck! Get your BEER, Chuck!
White-eyed Vireo
Recorded by © Chris Parrish. Welder Wildlife Refuge, San Patricio County, Texas; 29 May 2008.
Xeno-Canto catalog no. XC21959
Free BEER!
Alder Flycatcher
Recorded by © Jelmer Poelstra. Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario; 28 May 2008.
Xeno-Canto catalog no. XC83550
WHEAT beer.
Willow Flycatcher
Recorded by © Andrew Spencer. Foss Farm, Strafford County, New Hampshire; 20 May 2010.
Xeno-Canto catalog no. XC51764
Beer, beer, little bit PLEASE!
Cerulean Warbler
Recorded by © Tayler Brooks. Coverly Sods, Randolf County, West Virginia; 3 May 2010.
Xeno-Canto catalog no. XC59109
Beer, beer, beer, beeee.
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Recorded by © Todd Wilson. Kettle Moraine State Park, Waukesha County, Wisconsin; 9 May 2010.
Xeno-Canto catalog no. XC49810