My annotation from this weekend in Bates County, Mo., noted a "choot choot chweet chweet!" from this bird that took longer than it should have to identify. WhatBird contends they make a "dick-dick-dick-cissel"* and The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says their song is a "simple, dry, 'dick, dick, ciss, ciss, ciss.' Call a dry 'chek.' Flight call a short, buzzy "fpppt," like a Bronx cheer."** Okay, so dickcissles sound more like campers plucking string instruments rather than a stadium rock show, but if you stand in a middle of a field, the call and response encroaches from every direction and fan sout in a fading aural perspective. Very beautiful.
Here's my video. This one is better.
* cliche'
** What's a Bronx cheer?
