Cetti's Warbler
Cettia cettiJFMAMJJASOND
Loud enough to make you jump, but you'll almost never see it: a shout from the brambles beside the water.
Sounds like
A sudden, explosive burst of loud notes, 'chee! chewee-chewee-chewee!', from deep in a bush, then silence.
Remember it
Loud enough to make you jump, but you'll almost never see it: a shout from the brambles beside the water.
When and where
Listening for the cetti's warbler
Side by side
Often confused with
Play them one after the other and listen for the difference.
Wren
Troglodytes troglodytesJFMAMJJASOND
Tiny bird, enormous voice. Listen for the machine-gun trill.
'Tek' call
Could you pick out a cetti's warbler?
Hear a song, choose from four birds, and build your streak.
Same habitat
Also in wetland
Cuckoo
Cuculus canorusJFMAMJJASOND
The male's soft, far-carrying 'cuck-oo', the second note lower, repeated again and again.
Grasshopper Warbler
Locustella naeviaJFMAMJJASOND
A long, dry, even reeling, like a fishing line being wound in, that can run for a minute or more and seems to fade as the bird turns its head.
Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceusJFMAMJJASOND
A steady, rhythmic chatter of repeated notes, 'chrr-chrr-chirruc-chirruc', like a slow engine ticking over in the reeds.