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Step 1
Identify singing birds in your own backyard and remember their songs. The backyard is the best place to begin learning which birds produce what songs. The forests and meadows can have so many birds that it can be impossible to pinpoint one song and then match it to a bird species. But in the backyard, you often see the bird first and then listen for it to sing.
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Step 2
Learn the common birds in your region. Identifying a species quickly will enable you to listen to the songs it produces. Use a pocket guide to the birds in your part of the U.S. so you'll be able to accurately identify bird species by sight.
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Step 3
Expand the area where you can listen to birds by walking around your neighborhood. Bring a small notebook along and take meticulous notes when you hear the song of a bird. Write down what sounds the bird makes and be as descriptive as possible.
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Step 4
Utilize the many Web sites that have bird song recordings. These sites allow you to listen to a bird's song so that you may be able to recall it when you hear it in the field. Try sites such as eNature.com, which has the recorded sounds and songs of hundreds of birds.
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Step 5
Purchase audio tapes of bird songs. There are excellent tapes that you can carry along to try to quickly match up a bird species which you've just heard to that same sound. Sites such as Birdwatching.com have links to such tapes.
