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Mockingbirds are so named, because they are accomplished mimics. Here this male is copying many different species, including, carolina wren, cardinal, jay, and crow

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Learn how to identify Northern Mockingbird, its life history, cool facts, sounds and calls, and watch videos. If you've been hearing an endless string of 10 or 15 different birds singing outside your house, you might have a Northern Mockingbird in your yard. These slender-bodied gray birds apparently pour all their color into their personalities.

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Often from females, this is a VERY common sound to hear once you tune in. It likely functions as a contact and alarm call.

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Northern cardinal females are among the few species of North American birds in which females commonly sing. (Though other species sing under special circumstances).

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Function: mate attraction/terr. defense.
*Can you hear the mourning dove in the background?

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Northern Cardinal Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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The male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird. They're a perfect combination of familiarity, conspicuousness, and style: a shade of red you can't take your eyes off. Even the brown females sport a sharp crest and warm red accents.

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Function: mate attraction/territory defense

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function: ? Contact call?

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Function unknown

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function: mate attraction/ territory defense. House Sparrow songs are extremely simple, one note songs.

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House Sparrow Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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You can find House Sparrows most places where there are houses (or other buildings), and few places where there aren’t. Along with two other introduced species, the European Starling and the Rock Pigeon, these are some of our most common birds. Their constant presence outside our doors makes them ea…

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function: mate attraction/territory defense

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function: contact calls?

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House Finch Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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The House Finch is a recent introduction from western into eastern North America (and Hawaii), but it has received a warmer reception than other arrivals like the European Starling and House Sparrow. That's partly due to the cheerful red head and breast of males, and to the bird's long, twittering song, which can now be heard in most of the neighborhoods of the continent.

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Starlings sometimes form "murmurations". Like aerial fish schools thought to stem from predator avoidance. But may have other functions.

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function: mate attraction/territory defense. This male starts with typical starling calls. The sounds in the second half that sound like a rusty swingset are likely mimicking a blue jay

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Exact function unclear

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European Starling Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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First brought to North America by Shakespeare enthusiasts in the nineteenth century, European Starlings are now among the continent's most numerous songbirds. They are stocky black birds with short tails, triangular wings, and long, pointed bills. Though they're sometimes resented for their abundance and aggressiveness, they're still dazzling birds when you get a good look.

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Moans are a tonal signal that's harder to localize. It is generally used in response to airborne predators

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Kuks are generic alarm calls, while Quas tend to be used more often for terrestrial (land-based) predator threats

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Foraging Cue (Probably not an intentional signal)

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Foraging Cue (Probably not an intentional signal)

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Sound of a squirrel gnawing on a walnut

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Mate attraction, individual recognition, contact calls...

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Function: unknown

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Function: mate attraction/territory defense

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Function: Contact call?

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Function: mate attraction/territory defense.
Typical song for the Southeast, but there is regional variation in the frequency of individual notes

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This bird is somewhat upset. High pitched "seet" alarm call, followed by warning calls.

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Carolina Chickadee Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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John James Audubon named this bird while he was in South Carolina. The curious, intelligent Carolina Chickadee looks very much like a Black-capped Chickadee, with a black cap, black bib, gray wings and back, and whitish underside. Carolina and Black-capped chickadees hybridize in the area where their ranges overlap, but the two species probably diverged more than 2.5 million years ago.

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(a common species in the Genus Microcentrum)

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Shows wing movement producing sound & how slowed down you can pick out each chirp

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A cricket's chirping sounds quite different in slow motion! [Snippet]

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mate attraction, territory defense

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Mate attraction

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Unknown function?

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Function: Contact call...territory defense?

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Mate attraction

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Homepage: Cicadas by Genus and Species : U.S.A. & Canada Cicada Search

Results filtered for the Location: Tennessee (TN)

22

Neotibicen robinsonianus Davis, 1922 More N. robinsonianus sounds, video and info

N. robinsonianus

Robinson's Annual Cicada or Robinson's Cicada

Tibicen robinsonianus

AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, IN, KS, MD, MS, MO, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA

23

Neotibicen tibicen australis (Davis, 1912)More N. tibicen australis sounds, video and info

N. tibicen australis

Southern Swamp Cicada

Tibicen tibicen australis

AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA

Maps

List of sources

Full Binomial Names: ITIS.gov

Common names: BugGuide.net; The Songs of Insects by Lang Elliott and Wil Herschberger; personal memory.

Locations: Biogeography of the Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) of North America, North of Mexico by Allen F. Sanborn and Polly K. Phillips.

Descriptions, Colors: personal observations from specimens or photos from many sources. Descriptions are not perfect, but may be helpful.

Notes:

n/a means not (currently) available, not not applicable.

Some descriptions are based on aged specimens which have lost some or a lot of their color.

List of Sites Linked To:

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Cicadas in Tennessee (TN) - U.S.A. & Canada Cicada Search

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Homepage: Cicadas by Genus and Species : U.S.A. & Canada Cicada Search Results filtered for the Location: Tennessee (TN) 22 Neotibicen robinsonianus Davis, 1922 More N. robinsonianus sounds, video and info N. robinsonianus Robinson's Annual Cicada or Robinson's Cicada Tibicen robinsonianus AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, IN, KS, MD, MS, MO, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA 23 Neotibicen tibicen australis (Davis, 1912) More N.

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I believe this is used to defend a territory against rival males

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A rather irritated bird

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Aerial Predator Alarm Call (Seet)  spectrogram

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Aerial Predator Alarm Call (Seet)  spectrogram

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A very high-pitched call made when a flying predator has been spotted. Made between long pauses

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common name: southeastern field cricket
scientific name:Gryllus rubens Scudder (Insecta: Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

The southeastern field cricket, Gryllus rubens, is the most commonly encountered field cricket in Florida. It is common in lawns, roadsides, and pastures. In most parts of the state, it is the only field cricket that trills rather than chirps.

Overview of Florida field crickets

The southeastern field cricket occurs throughout southeastern United States.

Figure 1. U.S. Distribution of the southeastern field cricket, Gryllus rubens (Scudder).

The southeastern field cricket and the sand field cricket often occur together and are sometimes difficult to distinguish except by song ( song comparisons). The easiest morphological means of telling the two apart is the color pattern on the forewings. For males, the number and spacing of the teeth in the stridulatory file is definitive.

In southern Florida, where southeastern and Jamaican field crickets co-occur, the color pattern of the head will separate the two.

In western Florida, where both southeastern and Texas field crickets occur, the only sure means of telling the two apart is by the pulse rate (= wingstroke rate) during the male's calling song. The southeastern field cricket has the slower song, with a pulse rate of less than 62 at 77°F. If the two are singing at the same time and place, a trained ear can identify the males that are trilling at the slower pulse rate as southeastern field crickets.

Figure 2. Long-winged, adult male southeastern field cricket, Gryllus rubens (Scudder). Photograph by Paul M. Choate, University of Florida.

Figure 3. Short-winged, adult female southeastern field cricket, Gryllus rubens (Scudder). Photograph by Paul M. Choate, University of Florida.

Adults are most abundant in spring and fall, but adults and middle-sized to large juveniles can be found throughout the year. Small nymphs do not survive the winters in north Florida, and eggs laid in early December may remain dormant until the following spring. In states to the north of Florida, middle-sized to large juveniles are the overwintering stages and there are two discrete generations with adults occurring in spring and again in late summer.

This species occurs in lawns, pastures, and roadsides and is sometimes attracted to lights in numbers.

The calling song (657 Kb wav file) of the southeastern field cricket is a trill that is interrupted every second or so ( graphs). Often the pulse sequence within the trill not quite uniform, because the wings occasionally pause momentarily during the silent opening stroke.

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southeastern field cricket gryllus rubens orthoptera gryllidae thomas walker

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southeastern field cricket - Gryllus rubens (Scudder)

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The southeastern field cricket, Gryllus rubens, is the most commonly encountered field cricket in Florida. It is common in lawns, roadsides, and pastures. In most parts of the state, it is the only field cricket that trills rather than chirps. Overview of Florida field crickets The southeastern field cricket occurs throughout southeastern United States.

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Chimney Swifts are very small birds with slender bodies and very long, narrow, curved wings. They have round heads, short necks, and short, tapered tails. The wide bill is so short that it is hard to see.

Relative Size

About the same size as a Cliff Swallow.

between sparrow and robin

Measurements

Both Sexes

Length: 4.7-5.9 in (12-15 cm)

Weight: 0.6-1.1 oz (17-30 g)

Wingspan: 10.6-11.8 in (27-30 cm)

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Chimney Swift Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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A bird best identified by silhouette, the smudge-gray Chimney Swift nimbly maneuvers over rooftops, fields, and rivers to catch insects. Its tiny body, curving wings, and stiff, shallow wingbeats give it a flight style as distinctive as its fluid, chattering call. This enigmatic little bird spends almost its entire life airborne.

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Lesser Angle-wing (Microcentrum retinerve)

http://songsofinsects.com/wp-content/uploads/insect_musicians_lesser_anglewing.mp3

Another amazing leaf mimic is the Lesser Angle-wing. Recognized by its brown stridulatory field, this species is smaller than the Greater Angle-wing. It blends in so well that you can be looking straight at one and not see it. Like its cousin, the Lesser Angle-wing usually sings from high in trees. However, males often perch at the ends of branches. Concentrating your efforts there will increase your likelihood of finding one of these extraordinary-looking insects.

Song: A brief raspy rattle, usually produced in groups or two or three, with about a second of silence between each call. Each rattle is composed of 3-5 pulses, given just a little too fast to count. The time between song bouts can be very long. The peak frequency is about 8-10 kHz.

Sonogram of a Lesser Angle-wing. © Wil Hershberger.

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http://songsofinsects.com/wp-content/uploads/insect_musicians_lesser_anglewing.mp3 Another amazing leaf mimic is the Lesser Angle-wing. Recognized by its brown stridulatory field, this species is smaller than the Greater Angle-wing. It blends in so well that you can be looking straight at one and not see it. Like its cousin, the Lesser Angle-wing usually sings from high in trees.

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Eastern gray squirrels forage for nuts, seeds, buds, and flowers of trees. Like other tree squirrels, the eastern gray squirrel plays an important role in what's known as seed dispersal. As winter approaches, squirrels carry their food and bury it in several locations. They hide more food than they will recover or eat. The buried seeds and nuts sprout and begin to grow in these locations the following spring.

Eastern gray squirrels have an excellent sense of smell, which they use to help locate food that they've hidden away. They can also pick up information about their fellow squirrels by smelling them.

They communicate with each other by making sounds and body movements, such as tail flicking. When predators such as red foxes and red-tailed hawks are nearby, eastern gray squirrels will sound warning calls to alert other squirrels.

Female eastern gray squirrels may start having babies at as young as five and a half months old. Females can have litters twice a year, each usually consisting of two to four babies. They gather leaves and twigs and build nests high in the trees to house their young offspring, or use tree cavities as dens.

Newborn eastern gray squirrels don't have fur when they are born and are not able to see. They often weigh as little as half an ounce (14 grams). They leave the nest by around ten to twelve weeks old and they become fully grown by around nine months.

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There are more than 200 species of squirrels living all around the world, including kinds of tree, ground, and flying squirrels. You may have seen the eastern gray squirrel in parks, your backyard, or in a forest in the eastern half of the United States.

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Mourning Dove Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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A graceful, slender-tailed, small-headed dove that's common across the continent. Mourning Doves perch on telephone wires and forage for seeds on the ground; their flight is fast and bullet straight. Their soft, drawn-out calls sound like laments. When taking off, their wings make a sharp whistling or whinnying.

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American Robin Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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The quintessential early bird, American Robins are common sights on lawns across North America, where you often see them tugging earthworms out of the ground. Robins are popular birds for their warm orange breast, cheery song, and early appearance at the end of winter.

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Carolina Wren Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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In summer it can seem that every patch of woods in the eastern United States rings with the rolling song of the Carolina Wren. This shy bird can be hard to see, but it delivers an amazing number of decibels for its size. Follow its teakettle-teakettle!

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Blue Jay Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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This common, large songbird is familiar to many people, with its perky crest; blue, white, and black plumage; and noisy calls. Blue Jays are known for their intelligence and complex social systems with tight family bonds. Their fondness for acorns is credited with helping spread oak trees after the…

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Cicadas of the genus Neotibicen are large-bodied insects of the family Cicadidae that appear in summer or early fall in eastern North America. Common names include cicada, harvestfly, jar fly,[1] and the misnomer locust.[2] Until recently, these species were all in the genus Tibicen, which was redefined in the twenty-first century to include only a few European species, while species from the Western United States and Mexico are now placed in a separate genus, . In addition, several former Neotibicen species have been moved to the genus Megatibicen.

Neotibicen species are the most commonly encountered cicadas in the eastern United States. Unlike periodical cicadas, whose appearances aboveground occur at 13- or 17-year intervals, Neotibicen species can be seen every year, hence their nickname " annual cicadas". Despite their annual appearances, Neotibicen probably take multiple years to develop underground, because all cicada species for which life cycle lengths have been measured do so, except when growing as agricultural pests Their annual reappearance is presumably due to overlapping generations.

Neotibicen cicadas are 1-2 inches (25-51 mm) long, with characteristic green, brown, and black markings on the top of the thorax, and tented, membranous wings extending past the abdomen.[citation needed ] The fore wings are about twice the length of the hindwings. Adults feed using their beak to tap into the xylem of plants; nymphs feed from the xylem of roots.

Like other members of the subfamily Cicadinae, Neotibicen species have loud, complex songs, even (in many cases) with distinct song phrases.

Males produce loud calls in the afternoon or evening (depending on the species) to attract females. These sounds, distinctive for each species, are produced by specialized tymbal organs on the abdomen as in most cicadas. These calls range from a loud buzz to a long rattling sound, sometimes with a pulsating quality.

These species and subspecies belong to the genus Neotibicen. Several species formerly in this genus were recently moved to Megatibicen, and one (Neotibicen longioperculus) was moved to the genus .

Many animals feed on cicadas, which usually occurs during the final days when they become easy prey near the ground. One of the more notable predators is the cicada killer. This is a large wasp that catches the dog-day cicada. After catching and stinging the insect to paralyze it, the cicada killer carries it back to its hole and drags it underground to a chamber where it lays its eggs in the paralyzed cicada. When the eggs hatch, the wasp larvae feed on the paralyzed, but still living, cicada.

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Cicadas of the genus Neotibicen are large-bodied insects of the family Cicadidae that appear in summer or early fall in eastern North America. Common names include cicada, harvestfly, jar fly,[1] and the misnomer locust.[2] Until recently, these species were all in the genus Tibicen, which was redefined in the twenty-first century to include only a few European species, while species from the Western United States and Mexico are now placed in a separate genus, .

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Characteristics

The American toad, sometimes called the hop toad, is 2-4½ inches in length. It can vary in color from tan, brown, reddish-brown, or olive green.

Some American toads are solid in color, but others may be patterned. It has a light white to yellow belly that usually has black or gray spots on it. It has dark round spots on its back with one or two warts in each spot. Its skin contains glands that produce a white toxin that helps protect the toad from predators. Some American toads have a stripe down the middle of their backs. Males are usually smaller than females and may have a dark throat.

Range
The American toad is found in most areas of eastern Canada and the United States. In Canada, it is found from southeast Manitoba to Labrador. In the United States, it is found from Minnesota east to New England and south to northeastern Louisiana, western Mississippi, northern Alabama and Georgia, and western North and South Carolina. .
Habitat
The American toad is found in areas with lots of moisture and plenty of insects. It is often found in parks, yards, farmland, prairies, mountain areas, and forests.

Diet

The American toad uses its tongue to snap up insects. It may also eat spiders, earthworms, slugs, and other invertebrates.

Life Cycle

The American toad mates from March to July, depending on the latitude. Males go to shallow breeding ponds and call out to attract females with a distinctive high-pitched musical trill that can last for up to 30 seconds. When the female arrives at the breeding pond, the male grabs her until she discharges her eggs. The male then fertilizes the eggs by discharging fluid with sperm in it onto the eggs.

The eggs are encased in long spiral tubes of a jelly-like substance. They are laid in two separate strings with thousands of eggs in each string. The eggs are placed on submerged vegetation in shallow water. The tadpoles hatch in 3-12 days and become toads in 50-65 days. American toads usually survive only a year or two in the wild. Most tadpoles don't even survive long enough to become toads.

Behavior

The American toad is usually nocturnal. It spends daylight hours under cover. When cold weather arrives, it burrows into the ground and hibernates.

Toads don't cause warts, but the American toad produces a toxin in glands behind its eyes that can be harmful if swallowed, or if it gets in your eyes. The toxin protects it from some predators. For predators that aren't affected by the toxin, the American toad puffs itself up so that it looks bigger!

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American Toad - Bufo americanus - NatureWorks

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The American toad, sometimes called the hop toad, is 2-4½ inches in length. It can vary in color from tan, brown, reddish brown, or olive green. Some American toads are solid in color, but others may be patterned. It has a light white to yellow belly that usually has black or gray spots on it.

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Southeastern Field Cricket (Gryllus rubens)

http://songsofinsects.com/wp-content/uploads/insect_musicians_southeastern_field_cricket.mp3

Resembling a small Fall or Spring Field Cricket, the Southeastern Field Cricket is one of only two North American field cricket species that produce a continuous trill (the other is Gryllus texensis, a look-alike western species). These crickets can have either long wings or short wings. In those individuals with long wings one might mistake a male, such as the one pictured to the left, for a female because the protruding under-wings resemble a female's ovipositor.

The Southeastern Field Cricket is very common in the southern portion of its range and is the most numerous field cricket in Florida. It favors disturbed grassy areas. Not well studied, this species was recently found in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, a range extension of several hundred miles. In recent years this species has been encountered in Fayette County, West Virginia and Adams County, Ohio. Further work is required to really map the current range of this gorgeous cricket.

Song: A continuous musical trill, sometimes given smoothly, but often interrupted by short pauses that give it a stuttering quality. The dominant frequency of the song is approximately 5 kHz.

Sonogram of a Southeastern Field Cricket. © Wil Hershberger.

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http://songsofinsects.com/wp-content/uploads/insect_musicians_southeastern_field_cricket.mp3 Resembling a small Fall or Spring Field Cricket, the Southeastern Field Cricket is one of only two North American field cricket species that produce a continuous trill (the other is Gryllus texensis, a look-alike western species). These crickets can have either long wings or short wings.