The aim of this web site is collecting recordings of bird songs and calls in a restricted and well-defined geographic area: a part of Southern Tuscany (Toscana - Italy). For each bird a great effort is made to add different vocalizations: songs, flight calls, alarm calls etc. These pages will be frequently updated with different vocalizations of already recorded species or with songs and calls of "new" birds. Every recorded song or call is submitted to spectrum analysis; the resulting spectrograms are shown. The spectrogram (sonogram or sonagram) is a graphical representation of song frequency and amplitude changes over time. This technique allows a more efficient and valuable study of bird vocalization: describing bird calls or songs with a unique spectrogram is far better than using subjective onomatopoeic or phonetic renderings.

Certain species of birds have evolved an elaborate communication system of different calls, each having a specific function within an observable behavioral/environmental situation. Others use voice much less frequently and often on a more primitive level. However, every utterance has to be evaluated in relation to its role in behavior, communication, location as well as to its linkage with sex, physiological state and age. Therefore all recordings are accompanied by documentation about species identification, behaviour, habitat, time and date, exact locality, sex and age (where possible).
The section of this web site called Specific studies is dedicated to a deeper study of some species. Suggestions, criticisms and contributions to this work are all welcome! Send a mail to the author or fill the feedback form.

Copyright(??): all recordings and sonograms have been made by the author. Everyone can freely download, copy and reproduce them. Please, if you will use this material on the Internet, insert a link to this web site. The quality and size of the sound files are obviously reduced from the original 48KHz digitized samples. If someone is interested to the original full-length samples, he/she can send a mail and I'll be happy to provide the requested file.

To date the following 138 species have been recorded: alpine accentor (prunella collaris - sordone); alpine swift (apus melba - rondone alpino); avocet (recurvirostra avosetta - avocetta); barn owl (tyto alba - barbagianni); bee eater (merops apiaster - gruccione); blackbird (turdus merula - merlo); blackcap (sylvia atricapilla - capinera); black-headed gull (larus ridibundus - gabbiano comune); black redstart (phoenicurus ochruros - codirosso spazzacamino); black winged stilt (himantopus himantopus - cavaliere d'Italia); blue rock thrush (monticola solitarius - passero solitario); blue tit (parus caeruleus - cinciarella); buzzard (buteo buteo - poiana); cattle egret (bubulcus ibis - airone guardabuoi); cetti's warbler (cettia cetti - usignuolo di fiume); chaffinch (fringilla coelebs - fringuello); chiffchaff (phylloscopus collybita - lui piccolo); cirl bunting (emberiza cirlus - zigolo nero); collared dove (streptopelia decaocto - tortora dal collare); common sandpiper (actitis hypoleucos - piro piro piccolo); common tern (sterna hirundo - sterna comune); coot (fulica atra - folaga); comorant (phalacrocorax carbo - cormorano); corn bunting (emberiza calandra - strillozzo); crane (grus grus - gru); crested lark (galerida cristata - cappellaccia); cuckoo (cuculus canorus - cuculo); curlew (numenius arquata - chiurlo); dartford warbler (sylvia undata - magnanina); dunnock (prunella modularis - passera scopaiola); fan tailed warbler (cisticola juncidis - beccamoschino); firecrest (regulus ignicapillus - fiorrancino); goldcrest (regulus regulus - regolo); golden oriole (oriolus oriolus - rigogolo); goldfinch (carduelis carduelis - cardellino); great crested grebe (podiceps cristatus - svasso maggiore); great reed warbler (acrocephalus arundinaceus - cannareccione); great spotted cuckoo (clamator glandarius - cuculo dal ciuffo); great spotted woodpecker (dendrocopos major - picchio rosso maggiore); great tit (parus major - cinciallegra); great white egret (egretta alba - airone bianco maggiore); greater flamingo (phoenicopterus ruber - fenicottero); green sandpiper (tringa ochropus - piro piro culbianco); green woodpecker (picus viridis - picchio verde); greenfinch (carduelis chloris - verdone); greenshank (tringa nebularia - pantana); grey heron (ardea cinerea - airone cenerino); grey plover (pluvialis squatarola - pivieressa); grey wagtail (motacilla cinerea - ballerina gialla); greylag goose (anser anser - oca selvatica); gull-billed tern (gelochelidon nilotica - sterna zampenere); hawfinch (coccothraustes coccothraustes - frosone); hen harrier (circus cyaneus - albanella reale); herring gull (larus argentatus - gabbiano reale); hobby (falco subbuteo - lodolaio); hooded crow (corvus cornix cornix - cornacchia grigia); hoopoe (upupa epops - upupa); house martin (delichon urbica - balestruccio); italian sparrow (passer domesticus italiae - passera d'Italia); jackdaw (corvus monedula - taccola); jay (garrulus glandarius - ghiandaia); kestrel (falco tinnunculus - gheppio); kingfisher (alcedo atthis - martin pescatore); lapwing (vanellus vanellus - pavoncella); lesser grey shrike (lanius minor - averla cenerina); lesser spotted woodpecker (dendrocopos minor - picchio rosso minore); linnet (carduelis cannabina - fanello); little egret (egretta garzetta - garzetta); little grebe (tachybaptus ruficollis - tuffetto); little owl (athene noctua - civetta); little tern (sterna albifrons - fraticello); long eared owl (asio otus - gufo comune); long tailed tit (aegithalos caudatus - codibugnolo); magpie (pica pica - gazza); mallard (anas platyrhyncos); marsh tit (parus palustris - cincia bigia); meadow pipit (anthus pratensis - pispola); melodious warbler (hippolais polyglotta - canapino); montagu's harrier (circus pygargus - albanella minore); moorhen (gallinula chloropus - gallinella d'acqua); moustached warbler (acrocephalus melanopogon - forapaglie castagnolo); night heron (nycticorax nycticorax - nitticora); nightingale (luscinia megarhynchos - usignuolo); nightjar (caprimulgus europaeus - succiacapre); nuthatch (sitta europaea - picchio muratore); ortolan bunting (emberiza hortulana - ortolano); penduline tit (remiz pendulinus - pendolino); phaesant (phasianus colchicus - fagiano); purple heron (ardea purpurea - airone rosso); quail (coturnix coturnix - quaglia); red kite (milvus migrans - nibbio bruno); red-backed shrike (lanius collurio - averla piccola); red-rumped swallow (hirundo daurica - rondine rossiccia); redshank (tringa totanus - pettegola); reed bunting (emberiza schoeniclus - migliarino di palude); reed warbler (acrocephalus scirpaceus - cannaiola); ringed plover(charadrius hiaticula - corriere grosso); robin (erithacus rubecula - pettirosso); rock thrush (monticola saxatilis - codirossone); roller (coracias garrulus - ghiandaia marina); sanderling (calidris alba - piovanello tridattilo); sandwich tern (sterna sandwichensis - beccapesci); sardinian warbler (sylvia melanocephala - occhiocotto); scops owl (otus scops - assiolo); serin (serinus serinus - verzellino); short toed eagle (circaetus gallicus - biancone); shelduck (tadorna tadorna - volpoca); short toed treecreeper (certhia brachydactyla - rampichino); skylark (alauda arvensis - allodola); snipe (gallinago gallinago - beccaccino); song thrush (turdus philomelos - tordo bottaccio); spotted flycatcher (muscicapa striata - pigliamosche); spotted redshank (tringa erythropus - totano moro); starling (sturnus vulgaris - storno); stonechat (saxicola torquata - saltimpalo); stone curlew (burhinus oedicnemus - occhione); subalpine warbler (sylvia cantillans - sterpazzolina); swallow (hirundo rustica - rondine); swift (apus apus - rondone); tawny owl (strix aluco - allocco); tawny pipit (anthus campestris - calandro); teal (anas crecca - alzavola); tree sparrow (passer montanus - passera mattugia); turtle dove (streptopelia turtur - tortora); water pipit (anthus spinoletta - spioncello); water rail (rallus aquaticus - porciglione); wigeon (anas penelope - fischione); whimbrel (numenius phaeopus - chiurlo piccolo); whitethroat (sylvia communis - sterpazzola); white wagtail (motacilla alba - ballerina bianca); willow warbler (phylloscopus trochilus - lui grosso); wood sandpiper (tringa glareola - piro piro boschereccio); woodchat shrike (lanius senator - averla capirossa); woodlark (lullula arborea - tottavilla); woodpigeon (columba palumbus - colombaccio); wren (troglodytes troglodytes - scricciolo); yellow wagtail (motacilla flava - cutrettola). Listen to bird songs and check the corresponding sonograms in the songs and spectrograms page.