Episode 164: Wood Thrush at First Light in the River Bottom

Recorded on April 20, 2026 at Belmont in the river bottom along the Little Tallahatchie River, this is the sound of dawn chorus at the peak of migration season. The recording opens with the delicate, flute-like song of the Wood Thrush. The Wood Thrush’s call is a distinctive, layered three-part call where individuals can be identified by the repeating order in which they cycle through their middle-phrase variants, the ee-oh-lay. Males learn this phrase from neighboring birds and perform multiple variants, typically 2 to 10 clear, ringing notes. When combined with 1–3 variants of a softer introductory phrase and 6–12 variants of a more complex, higher-pitched final trill, a single bird may produce more than 50 distinct songs.

Other voices joining the chorus include: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Carolina Wren, Northern Cardinal, Louisiana Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Northern Parula, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Downy Woodpecker, Acadian Flycatcher, Pine Warbler, American Crow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Red-eyed Vireo, American Redstart and Tufted Titmouse.