What does the Bobolink song sound like?

Dolichonyx oryzivorus

Song Fairly common

Play the real Bobolink song, the "bubbly, tumbling R2-D2 jumble", and learn what to listen for.

“bubbly, tumbling R2-D2 jumble”

What the Bobolink song sounds like

Male's song is a long, bubbling, rambling warble with mix of sharp high notes and buzzy low notes, often likened to R2-D2-like or a gurgling, tumbling sound. This song is given in flight or from perches over fields. Calls include a sharp "pink" note.

“bubbly, tumbling R2-D2 jumble”

How to find the bird singing it

Tall grasslands, wet meadows, and overgrown pastures. Favors damp meadows and prairies with dense grasses; often nests in hayfields and alfalfa fields when native prairies are unavailable.

Head & Face: Male in breeding season has black face and crown with buffy-yellow patch on back of head. Female has buffy face with dark crown stripes. Both have a strong dark eyeline.
Bill: Short, stout, conical bill typical of seed-eating birds. Pinkish in breeding males, brownish in females and nonbreeding birds.
Breast & Underparts: Breeding male has black breast and underparts. Female and nonbreeding male buffy with dark streaks on sides and flanks.

When you'll hear it

Spring

Males arrive in striking black, buff, and white breeding plumage. Females arrive shortly after in streaked brown plumage. Active courtship with males performing flight displays.

Summer

Males maintain breeding colors through nesting season. By late summer, both sexes molt into dull winter plumage resembling female.

Fall

All birds in brown streaked plumage. Form flocks before migration. Depart early, mainly gone by September.

Winter

Absent from North America, wintering in South America grasslands. Both sexes remain in dull plumage until spring.

Don’t confuse it with

Birds whose song gets mistaken for this one. Play them back to back.

Red-winged Blackbird

Female Red-winged Blackbirds are darker and more heavily streaked, with a longer, sharper bill and warm rusty tones in the wings.

Eastern Meadowlark

Eastern Meadowlarks are larger and longer-billed, with bright yellow below and a bold black breast mark in breeding plumage.

Western Meadowlark

Western Meadowlarks are larger and longer-billed, with bright yellow below and a bold black breast mark in breeding plumage.

Bobolink song FAQ

What does a Bobolink song sound like?

How do I tell a Bobolink from a Red-winged Blackbird by ear?

Red-winged Blackbird: Female Red-winged Blackbirds are darker and more heavily streaked, with a longer, sharper bill and warm rusty tones in the wings..

When is the best time to hear the Bobolink song?

Arrives on breeding grounds in late spring. Males perform flight displays and continuous bubbling songs in spring and early summer. By late summer, molts into dull plumage before migrating. Undertakes one of the longest migrations of any songbird (~20,000 km round-trip annually).

More Bobolink sounds

Bobolink: the full species pageEvery sound we have, field marks, habitat and similar species.How to Learn Bird Songs by Ear: A Gentle Two-Week MethodLearning bird songs by ear sounds intimidating until you realize you already know a few — that robin in your yard, the chickadee at the feeder. Here is the gentle on-ramp: seven birds to learn first, a memory trick that works even if you cannot carry a tune, and a ten-minute-a-day rhythm that turns spring noise into named neighbors.How to Learn Bird Calls Fast: A 7-Day Spring PlanYou have seven days. You want seven birds. This is the plan: one new song per day, a mnemonic per bird, ten minutes you steal from your coffee break. Sunday-to-Sunday, you walk outside and a name lands in your head before you have time to think about it.The Dawn Chorus: Which Birds Sing First Each Morning (And Why)Every morning, as the first light touches the sky, birds like the American Robin and Northern Cardinal begin their symphony. But why do they choose dawn for their most vigorous singing?