I don't know why this would come up as "rare": it is included in our "Birds of Alberta" field guide.

-great capture! We've had these warblers, that look like thrushes, in our backyard as well. I always try to remember the "back end bounce"! The other warbler that also looks "thrushy" is the Ovenbird, who has an orange crown!

We thought that this bird was the source of a mysterious call we've been hearing for the last several weeks, but it isn't. The call is a high-pitched, descending, 4-note whistle, with the fourth note a repeated same-pitch "gallop" - often with 7 "beats" in the "gallop". We keep hearing it in the woods behind our house, but none of the birds that come to our feeders make that call when they're in our yard. We've hunted through the bird call recordings in our Cornell field guide and the Smithsonian DVD, as well as the Internet, with no luck. The mystery is driving us (me?) up the wall!

Wonderful !! I've never seen one that I know of !!! About your mystery-birdsong.... I'm wondering if maybe it's a white-throated sparrow? Sometimes their calls go "up" and sometimes "down".... mostly I find the internet birdsongs with the "going up" version.... The Cornell site has an example of the "going down" song though.... http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/White-throated_Sparrow.html Joanne

- I think Joanne has it pegged! " oh my sweet Canada, Canada, Canada"! Other quieter and shortened variations are often heard very early in the morning and very late in the evening.

Thanks, Joanne & Jim, for your help. Unfortunately, when I checked the various songs and calls of the white throated sparrow, they did not match our mystery call. There is, however, another lead: on the Smithsonian Field Guide DVD, the call can be heard in the background of the binaural recording of the song sparrow. It occurs 7 seconds into the recording and lasts about 2 seconds. It is faint, but very clear. If anyone can ID that call, I would really appreciate it, as the mystery is still "driving me up the wall"!

-Now its driving me nuts!! Listened to my Smithsonian's Song Sparrow which has an interesting array of other bird background songsters; at approximately 7 sec, the clearest background song is Joanne's white throated Sparrow; there is also the "winnowing" sound of a male Wilsons Snipe, as he pulls out of a dive, trying to impress a female.

So that is a white throated sparrow? The dscending white throated songs I've found on the Internet are similar, tho' not identical, especially with respect to the final repeated lilting note, but then I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there are variations in the songs. Thank you for helping me "come down the wall"!! LOL

Lol - the white-throated sparrow drove me nuts a few yrs ago too! I was camping somewhere...... heard their song constantly but could never SEE them! I asked the campground owner who lived there.... he said "huh? Oh, that's a bird....."...... ha ha! I don't have the Smithsonian yet (arg! It's sold-out all over the city! Let me know if you see one somewhere!)...... and the internet songs are all very different so I'm assuming that their song does vary a lot! But finally, finally, one day - I DID see it...... with it's little beak wide open, singing the descending song! And the white-throated sparrow is unmistakable if you see it. I lived in B.C. most of my life where there are no white-throated sparrows. I was in the museum once, listening to the calls you can hear when you push those buttons by the displays - and again - THERE IT WAS! White throated sparrow....... but last time I was there - I swear - the song had changed! It wasn't the descending one! I don't know - maybe I imagined it, or maybe they changed the song. I've also heard the ascending song in the river valley..... and lately - I tend to "stalk" the songbird till I can see it - lol - or it will drive me crazy allright!!! ha ha! I think it likely was a white-throated you heard..... Joanne