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Glite Dictionary
🐦 A bird sound 🎶 A sound maker
birdcall

birdcall

1 3.9
The sound a bird makes to communicate with other birds
  • noun
  • /ˈbɜrdˌkɔl/
translation icon : canto de pájaro
  • The birdcall of the nightingale pierced the silence, signaling the arrival of spring.
  • hear birdcalls

Examples

  • The forest was alive with birdcalls, each one distinct and melodic.

  • As she walked through the wood, she listened intently for a twig snap, a sleepy birdcall, any sound breaking through the oppressive stillness, the great held breath of the Weirdwood.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Do you know any other birdcalls, Franz?

    Spectre (2015)

  • While I thought these thoughts, essentially a gardener's thoughts, I heard a nearby birdcall that I did not recognize.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • David Attenborough and others have claimed that birdcalls have evolved to fit the environment.

    Blog text (31)

  • "Why do you make birdcalls the minute you see Glendora and Jeff?" I asked Constantine.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • In the thin air, he heard the muted rattle of water over rocks, a faint birdcall, and a bee buzzing.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The tableau they created would have elicited a symphony of birdcalls from our gardener, Constantine.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Unlike its gridlocked surroundings, the park was a vast uncharted space of branches, moss, and birdcalls, which I much preferred to the sirens and exhaust fumes of the city.

    Academic text (2001)

  • As she sat quietly in the park, various birdcalls filled the air around her.

Synonyms

call
vsbirdcall
301 1.0

A sound an animal makes to get attention

is specific to characteristic bird sounds used for species communication
song
vsbirdcall
44 1.0

Musical sounds that birds make to call others or attract mates

is wider, including both songs and other communicative sounds
squawk
vsbirdcall
21 4.9

A loud, harsh sound often made by a bird

is usually gentler and more varied, not only loud alarms
chirp
vsbirdcall
18 1.6

A short, high sound made by small birds or insects

covers that short sound but also other bird vocal types
birdsong
vsbirdcall
6 2.6

Pleasant musical sounds that birds make, often in the morning

is broader, covering all characteristic bird sounds used to communicate
cheep
vsbirdcall
3 4.0

A short, weak, high sound made by a baby bird

is not limited to juveniles and covers adult vocal signals
wheep
vsbirdcall
9.7

A short high whistling sound made by small birds

is more general, including many pitch patterns and purposes
bell-like call
vsbirdcall
6.3

A clear, musical bird sound like a small bell

is broader, including non-melodic and varied call qualities
two-note call
vsbirdcall
  • Specialized
8.1

A bird sound that has two different notes played one after the other

is more general, not limited to any fixed note pattern

How Complex

song
44 1.0
to warble
7 7.8
birdcall
1 3.9
to trill
  • Specialized
2 7.2
chirp
18 1.6
peep
14 1.0

Surface Forms

birdcall singular
birdcalls plural

Morphology

birdcall = bird + call (transparent) = bird + call

Direct compound meaning 'the call (sound) of a bird,' which is easily inferable from its parts.

Etymology

Birdcall is simply bird + call, where call means 'a sound to get attention'. So a birdcall is the song or sound a bird uses to attract mates or warn others.