Birding with Mnemon

3/22/2001

Meet Mnemon, one of my favorite birding companions. In Greek mythology Mnemon was AchillesÕ friend, who was slain by him when he failed to remind him never to kill a child. In our present era, mnemonics is any cue or rhyme that helps us remember something.

The other day I was writing a scene in my novel, Heartwood, in which an older man teaches a mother and daughter to identify birds by their vocalizations. To flesh out this scene, I contacted an on-line group of birding friends and asked for some of their favorite birdsong mnemonics. My friends provided me with quite a list. Rather than recount these devices individually, IÕm going to share with you the passage from my manuscript in which I used them. The characters are a recently widowed mother, Grace, and her seven-year-old daughter, Lily, who are spending the summer at their Swan Valley homestead in order to heal from their loss, and their friend Thain, a Salish Indian who has arrived to mend their corral fence.

The next morning Lily and I woke up at daybreak. It was a warm morning, and we went out to the porch in our nightgowns and bare feet to watch the light seep into the sky. We sat on the porch swing, brushing our hair and listening to the dawn chorus of birds. We could hear them, but couldnÕt see them. A resonant drumming came from the forest crown.

ÒPileated,Ó I said.

ÒHow do you know itÕs not some other kind of woodpecker?Ó Lily asked.

ÒBecause they have the loudest, steadiest drum. Thain told me.Ó

ÒWish I could tell what all these birds are.Ó

ÒHang on and IÕll see if I can help you,Ó I said, going into the cabin to get a field guide.

We looked up the birds we thought we were hearing--robins and chickadees. The guide confirmed the Òchirrup-chirilee, chirrup-chirilowÓ of the robins and the plaintive two note Òfee-beeÓ of the black-capped chickadees, but that was as far as weÕd gotten when Thain pulled up, catching us by surprise.

ÒMorninÕ,Ó I said.

ÒHope IÕm not disturbing you. Thought IÕd get an early start,Ó Thain said.

ÒItÕs all right,Ó I said, feeling self-conscious about having been caught in my nightgown. ÒWould you like some coffee?Ó

ÒNah, already had my limit this morning. What you gals doinÕ up so early?Ó

ÒListening to birds,Ó Lily said. ÒBut weÕre having trouble figuring out what some of them are.Ó

ÒWell, lemme see if I can help,Ó Thain said. He sat on the porch steps and Lily sat down next to him. ÒYou gotta pay real close attention,Ó he said, smiling down at Lily. ÒTry closing your eyes. DonÕt know why, but I always hear better with my eyes shut.Ó

Lily squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her head toward the forest. ÒI see what you mean,Ó she said, concentrating. ÒNow listen. Hear that Ôritchie, ritchie, ritchieÕ song? There it goes again. ThatÕs a ruby-crowned kinglet. Grayish green bird, about three and a half inches long. Always moving, so you donÕt usually see them. But you hear them, all right.

Now listen to that,Ó Thain said, as another bird burst into song. ÒItÕs singing ÔMaids, maids, hang up your tea kettles.ÕÓ

ÒThatÕs silly,Ó Lily said, laughing.

ÒShhh! Listen,Ó Thain said with mock sternness. ÒThatÕs a song sparrow, and if you open your eyes, youÕll see its outline over there, perched on top of a tall blade of grass,Ó he said, pointing to the meadowÕs edge.

ÒI can barely make it out,Ó I said. Even with the morning light on it, I couldnÕt see much more than a dark figure.

ÒNo way youÕd be able to ID that bird visually from here, even with binoculars, but its song is a sure giveaway,Ó Thain said. ÒNow shut your eyes and listen again. What do you hear, Lily?Ó

ÒHmmm...a bird going Ôwicca, wicca, wicca.ÕÓ

ÒThatÕs a male flicker serenading his lady.Ó

ÒCool,Ó Lily said.

ÒAnd there--dÔja hear that bird that sounds like itÕs being strangled?Ó

ÒYou mean the one going ÔPumpkin EEEAT-er! Pumpkin EEEAT-erÕ?Ó Lily said.

Thain slapped his thigh and laughed. ÒHey, now youÕre getting the hang of it, cowgirl. ThatÕs a red-winged blackbird. Now I hear another funny one. Listen. What does that sound like?Ó

Lily frowned, and looked up questioningly at Thain. ÒHow about Ôhic-three beers,ÕÓ Thain said. ÒThatÕs crazy,Ó said Lily, bursting out laughing. ÒSeriously,Ó Thain said, ÒthatÕs an olive-sided fly catcher.Ó ÒHey,Ó Lily said, Òdid you hear that bird that just said ÔQUORK?Õ I know what it is, do you?Ó The bird repeated its call, this time producing a series of five deep Ôquorks.Õ

ÒGee,Ó I said, feigning ignorance, Òcould it be a bluebird?Ó

ÒWrong,Ó Lily said. ÒRaven!Ó

ÒThat was pretty good,Ó Thain said. ÒOh, I hear one of AgnesÕ favorites. Listen closely, can you hear it say ÔIf I could see it I would seize it, and IÕd squeeze it till it SQUIRTSÕ?Ó

ÒWhat?Ó I said, letting out a belly laugh.

ÒYeah, that wife of mine comes up with some good ones now and then. Listen again.Ó

ÒWhat is it?Ó Lily said.

ÒWarbling vireo,Ó Thain said. ÒAnd hear its cousin nearby, saying ÔHere I am in the tree, look up at the top.ÕÓ

ÒAnother vireo?Ó I asked.

ÒYep. Red-eyed. And how about this one. Listen: ÔSweet, sweet, IÕm so sweet.Õ What do you think that is?Ó

ÒSounds like a warbler,Ó I said. ÒBut which one?Ó

ÒThatÕs an easy one,Ó Thain said. ÒYellow warbler. And over there, hear that two-part song with a drop off? ThatÕs another warbler.Ó

ÒYou mean that Ôcheep, cheep, cheep, chahhhhhhÕ sound?Ó I said.

ÒThatÕs it. McGillivrayÕs warbler.Ó

ÒAll the warblers look so much alike, theyÕre hard to identify,Ó I said.

ÒThe easiest way to do it is by their songs. Well. IÕd like nothing better than to spend the morning birding by ear with you, but IÕve got to get to work,Ó Thain said, standing up. Birding by ear is a fun way to identify birds. My friend Dona Hilkey is a wilderness outfitter and a board member of the Colorado Field Ornithologists (www.cfa-link.org/). She walks with her sister several evenings a week and doesnÕt carry binoculars on these walks, but finds herself identifying just as many birds by ear as she would with binoculars. My friend Terrie Murray writes an on-line birding column (www. suite101.com/welcome.cfm/backyard_birdwatching_almanac) and has a birding/writing web site (www.teleport.com/timurray/index.htm). She sometimes participates in Portland AudubonÕs morning birdsong walks that begin at 7:00 a.m. three days a week throughout the spring. Terrie suggests engaging children in birding by ear by getting them to come up with their own mnemonics. Thayer SoftwareÕs ÒBirds of North AmericaÓ is an excellent way to learn more about birds and their songs, as is www.birdzilla.com, a nature sounds web site.

My thanks to the members of the LoonLark eGroup and to Brett Thuma, who contributed mnemonics, and special thanks to Òthe lady who talks to birdsÓ for the punctuation lessons.