or downloads for your cat’s iPod?
Late one star-lit night, a friend told us a tale. We were gathered around a roaring fire, in the company of consumed beers, under a clear sky, and clutching our sides from laughing too much.
“Tell us again!” we begged, “what kind of bird?”
“It’s a cheeseburger bird!” he insisted.
…corraborating proof that he’s not bonkers. I guess we owe Steve an apology. Cheeseburger birds are real!
“Some of the Eastern Sierra songbirds and the music they play are The Hermit Thrush, though often more heard than seen, has clear flute-like notes are among the most beautiful of all songbirds. The Mountain Chickadee, also are more heard than seen, has a distinctive “chick-a-dee” call. They are also referred to as the “cheeseburger bird” due to their spring/summer call that sounds similar to “cheese-bur-ger”.”
birds often heard around frat parties, from Biologycorner.com
- Bird Name… Mnemonic
- Blackbird, Brewer’s… whiskey
- Chickadee, Black-capped… cheeseburger
- Flycatcher, Acadian… pizza
- Flycatcher, Alder… free beer
- Flycatcher, Olive-sided… quick, three beers!
- Goldfinch, American… potato chips
- Owl, Barred… who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?
- Plover, Semipalmated… chewy, chewy
this is further proof that bird watchers are a curious lot (or just hungry and thirsty!).
15 Comments
I grew up in the Truckee/Lake Tahoe area and very much remember the beloved ‘cheeseburger bird’. I now live in the pacific northwest and have only heard them here a few times, usually way up Lake Chelan or Tumwater Canyon.
I’m looking forward to listening for these other bird calls. Thanks for the link.
I love the cheeseburger bird song. Only one problem, every time I hear its song I gain 2 pounds!
Thank you for answering the nagging question of my ages! I have wondered about this bird since I was a boy (1960’s) and would wake to these calls in Paradise in the western Sierra foothills.
Recectly determined to find the answer, I could not find anyone who knew this bird’s true name.
This morning again, I awoke to the Cheeseburger bird outside my window and thought-”Google!” Is there a bird that says that?
I can rest in peace.
Oh My gosh! Thank you so much!!! I have been wondering what bird has been teasing me with the cheeseburger song since I was a liitle girl. I live in South Lake Tahoe and we hear the Mountain Chickadee all the time.
My eternal thanks!
I grew up in Metaline, WA (100 miles north of Spokane, WA) and heard the cheeseburger bird quite often….so often that now living in Deer Park, WA I rather miss hearing them. The sound of the bird has been replaced by coyotes as the most regularly heard animal sound…although I now hear pheasants & quail more often living here than in Metaline. It did help to live next to a large pond I think. I tell people about the bird and they more often laugh at me because they have never heard it. Im happy to now know which bird it really is. thanks
Thanks for proving me right. I knew the cheeseburger bird exsisted!!
Thanks for the info. I always wondered what bird made the “cheeseburger” sound. Now waiting to hear, “fries with that”….lol
i lived in truckee for awile when i was a kid my dad and i would go hiking and i would follow saying cheeee burger. imatating the bird song i would hear. now i live in texas i wake up one morning and i hear cheeeeese burger again im happy they live here in texas too.
I would add a word from that immortal Saturday Night Live skit, “Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, chips!” I always here the “chips” at the end of the call.
Having worked at a kids camp in the Truckee/Soda Springs area, we heard a lot from the Mountain Chickadee…
The kids in our groups LOVED copying them. I think in any given morning, you could hear at least 50 random kids saying CHEEEEESE-buuurgerrr.
so fun.
yippee thanks for the help showing my hubby cheeseburger birds are real. i grew up in northlake tahoe and heard them all the time..
We have a cheeseburger bird here in Atlantic Canada. I’ve never seen one but have heard them many times. Along with my own observations, and what the other springtime forecasters have to say (various groundhogs) the cheeseburger bird is a sure sign of spring.
We have the ”cheeseburger,cheeseburger” bird here in Baltimore Maryland too.I’m surprised to hear that such a big word comes from such a little bird!!!
Thank you so much, what a relief. We actually called the Audubon Society to find out what bird this was, and they told us it was the Robin’s mating call!! We knew that couldn’t be right, so now we have the real answer. We live in Surrey, B.C. and hear them every morning, they are all over B.C.and we always know it’s spring when they sing.
I am so grateful for Google! My daughter and I awoke to the sound of this bird calling for its lunchtime meal and after listening to it over and over(and over),I realized we HAD to know its proper name. Although Mountain Chickadee is not as fun as Cheeseburger Bird, we can now rest easy. (That is, whenever this bird stops the insanity!)
