Cowbird Serenade

Early yesterday morning, while I was weeding before the sun got too high, a brown-headed cowbird on the peak of the roof behind me sang over and over its "water song" and cheep. I had never heard the water song so clearly before. It was if anything louder than the long cheep that followed it. I had also never seen a cowbird while it was in the act of singing its characteristic song -- it's always an intellectual thrill when you can make a direct connection between the bird and the song.

The water song consists of bubbling, babbling noises, like a brook running over stones or water being poured into a puddle. Starlings can make a similar noise, but theirs has a random, undisciplined feel, wandering all over in pitch and incorporating pops and clicks.