Top 10 Songbirds

Songbirds create sounds that resemble human music - sounds that are melodious to the human ear.

Usually the males can sing or both sexes can sing but as a rule, males sing better because males had to put more effort in singing to attract females/mates - to impress females, to show off...

The organ that makes singing possible is called syrinx, something similar to the human larynx.

Some birds hatch knowing the songs they will sing as adults and they don't need to learn the songs.
But some songbirds (the catbirds, thrashers, mockingbirds) even learn to mimic other species - frogs, cats, and... car alarms.

I like both music and birds and this list combines them: singing birds!
Who are the best singers among the birds?
The Top Ten
1 Nightingale

Their sounds/songs have been imitated the most (mainly in classical music but not only)

2 Song Thrush

One of the species, Wood Thrush, has some singing skills that even Pavarotti didn't have:
1) it can sing two different notes at once!
It is possible because each side of the syrinx (bird larynx) is independently controlled, allowing birds to produce two unrelated pitches at once. Wow, it's like lead and backing vox coming simultaneously from one throat.
2) the Wood Thrush can also sing rising AND falling notes simultaneously!
3) its song ends with one of the most complex sounds a bird can create.
Wow, I want this singer in my band!

3 Canary

Domestic canary is one of the most popular pets, and one of the reasons is that they can sing.
Female canaries prefer males who sing faster and with a wider range of pitches (ha, female canaries prefer canary metal singers! )

4 Cardinal The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis; it is also known colloquially as the redbird or common cardinal. It can be found in southern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico. It is found in woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and swamps. The northern cardinal is a mid-sized songbird with a body length of 21–23 cm (8.3–9.1 in). It has a distinctive crest on the head and a mask on the face which is black in the male and gray in the female. The male is a vibrant red, while the female is a dull reddish olive. The northern cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on insects and fruit.

Its vocal acrobatics aren't for everyone! (some power metal singers come close to it but it's still not the same).
Northern Cardinals can switch sides of their syrinx! They can sweep through more notes than are on a piano keyboard in just a tenth of a second!
Because each branch of their syrinx is individually controlled, the cardinals can start the sweeping notes with one side of the syrinx and seamlessly switch to the other side without stopping for a breath!
Wow, most of the human singers have to learn how to breathe properly while singing!

5 Veery

It creates impressive flutelike vocal effects by pitch sweeps and mini-trills: at quarter speed it sounds exactly like a flute. These hidden complexities in its songs were revealed thanks to spectrograms.
Veery is a thrush species and the thrush family are amazing singers.

6 Warbler

Yellow Warblers are classic songbirds.

7 Brown Thrasher

It can sing two sweeping tones at the same time (same as the Wood Thrush and Canary).
It has one of the largest repertoires in the bird world - over 1,000 song types!

8 Indigo Bunting

They even sing in regional dialects! (their songs have significant regional variations).

9 Cockatiel
10 Starling
The Contenders
11 Goldfinch
12 House Sparrow

White-throated Sparrows, for example, have to learn their songs while still in the nest, listening to the adults' songs.

13 Swallow
14 Blackbird
15 Asian Koel

It is a member of the cuckoo order of birds.

16 American Robin
17 Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
18 Black-Billed Magpie
19 Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo
20 Eastern Meadowlark
21 Channel-Billed Cuckoo
22 Bluebird
23 Common Yellowthroat

The male in the image sings like there's no tomorrow!

24 Swainson's Warbler

Only males sing.

25 Eastern Towhees
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