NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Matthew Medler of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology about the best bird sounds of 2025 from their vast collection of recordings, and why their selections made the list.

Late September is the time to listen for the magic sounds that announce autumn. If you are used to listening to birds, recent months may have seemed increasingly quiet and uneventful as spring and ...

Birds don't just sing for beauty, their voices carry messages, warnings, and even regional dialects that reveal a hidden world of communication. Bird sounds offer insight into how intelligent and ...

The mountains, lakes, deep woods and rugged coastlines of Maine's Acadia National Park are home to more than 300 species of birds. Volunteers are making recordings to document the avian soundscape, ...

Cowbirds are special among songbirds for the "watery" timbre of their singing, which resembles the sound of falling droplets striking water, a quick burst followed by a fading ripple.

Part 1. 'I don't do calls' -- Crossing the sound barrier -- Tone and timpre -- Pitch and frequency -- Rhythm and timing -- Part 2. Put it all together and what have you got? -- Simple calls -- Simple ...

We become desensitized to the common sounds around us—car alarms, chattering squirrels, the mechanical functions of modern living kicking on and off throughout the day. If you had asked me a week ago ...