x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Voice of the Wild

University of Illinois Extension

If you learn to listen for them, you will find wildlife everywhere. Voice of the Wild is a podcast about wildlife and the wild sounds they make. Tune in every Friday to learn a new bird song, frog call, or insect noise.

education nature

All Episodes

2:35

Episode 22: Morning Cicada – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/09/06

Morning Cicada (Neotibicen tibicen). As the name suggests, this insect sings only in the morning. It begins its rattling broadcast just after the late summer sun has cooked the cool of the night out of the low vegetation it tends to prefer. This cicada has blueish wings, a dark body, and a notably humped back. It is known to have an affinity for swampy areas – in fact, another common name for it is the “swamp cicada.” Nonetheless, I’ve heard it many habitats, so keep an ear open for this

en

2:30

Episode 20: American Goldfinch – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/08/30

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis). The American goldfinch’s jumbled song is a staple of warm mornings and hot summer afternoons. In the cold months they visit hanging finch feeders, the drooping heads of last year’s sunflowers, and sometimes join in with Pine siskins foraging in sycamore and sweetgum trees. Listen for their “perchicory” or “potato chip” flight call as you go about your day! Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every

en

2:04

Episode 19: Indigo Bunting – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/08/23

Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea). While the Indigo Bunting is named for the breeding male’s exceptionally blue plumage, the female’s plumage is also exceptional; a rich fawn brown. Look for the Indigo Bunting in hedgerows, forest edges, and other savannalike habitats. Their song is generally sang in multiple phrases, each two notes long. Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to time,

en

2:14

Episode 18: Field Sparrow – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/08/16

Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla). The Field Sparrow perseveres even when oppressive heat drives all the other birds to silence. Some remember the field sparrow’s song as a ping-pong ball dropped on a table. If the Field Sparrow isn’t calling, look for the its rusty cap and long tail if you’re too far away to see its characteristic pink-bill. Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to

en

2:26

Episode 17: Gray Catbird – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/08/09

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis). A mimid, this slate-gray bird copies from its neighbors and sings a mishmash of the whole neighborhood’s songs all from one spot. The Gray catbird is a bit of a lurker, often sticking to the low brush and the back of thickets. Listen out for the meow-like call for which it is named! Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to time, we’ll also do a

en

2:10

Episode 16: House Wren – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/08/02

House wren (Troglodytes aedon). The House wren adds brightness to backyards, woods, and urban forests with its bubbly song that seems to stumble over its own urgency. The house wren can be found in Illinois from spring to fall. A small but bold nester, it takes readily to birdhouses in backyards but will also make do in much smaller and more wild spaces. Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From

en

2:17

Episode 15: Scissor Grinder Cicada – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/07/26

Scissor Grinder Cicada (Neotibicen pruinosus). The scissor grinder’s name was a little more appropriate when it was common practice to sharpen cutting implements with a specialty grinding stone, now the name is a bit anachronistic. Unlike the small, orange-winged periodical cicadas, the Scissor Grinder Cicada can be heard every year. In Illinois, it emerges a little after the summer solstice and graces hot summer evenings with its oscillating call all the way through to the fall. Do you

en

2:12

Episode 14: Dickcissel – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/07/19

Dickcissel (Spiza americana). In a good tallgrass prairie the Dickcissel’s call can seem to come from every direction. It may have a passing resemblance to a Meadowlark, but on closer inspection you’ll find the Dickcissel is much smaller and has stubby finchlike beak. If you are still unsure, simply wait for the bird to sing it’s own name; dick-dick cissel-cissel. Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild

en

1:41

Episode 13: Common True Katydid – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/07/12

Common True Katydid (Pterophylla camellifolia). This night-singing insect is commonly heard but seldom seen. It’s a master of disguise, with oblong green wing covers that are almost indistinguishable from a leaf. The camouflage is both necessary and appropriate, that’s because this katydid is very nearly flightless! It’s also arboreal, sticking to the tops of trees where it can hide amongst the foliage to feed. Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice

en

1:50

Episode 12: Common Nighthawk – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/07/05

Learn the song and call of the Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor). The erratic flight and Narrow angular wings tipped with white bands give the common nighthawk a rather boomerang-like appearance. While it can be found foraging over its native habitats; marshes, ponds, and prairies, you’re more likely to hear its distinctive “peent” when heading downtown for a dinner with friends. That’s because this nightjar has an affinity for the evening city skyline. The bright city lights draw in

en

2:21

Episode 11: Sandhill Crane – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/06/28

Learn the song and call of the Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis). The harsh, resonant call of the Sandhill crane is most often heard from migratory flocks passing overhead in the spring and fall. Those flocks are easily identified by their calls and by the way they fly; with their heads craned out in front (as opposed to folded back the way a great blue heron or great egret flies.) When found foraging in a wetland, field, or open prairie, this 3 foot tall bird wears a red cap and grey

en

16:27

Bonus: The Water’s Edge – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/06/24

Headphones on! Today we’re giving voice to the array of plants and animals which can only be found where the land and the water mingle. It's a set of ecosystems united by inundation, whether it's the long edge of a shallow pond, a cypress swamp, or a wet prairie. It starts with an unwanted sparrow… Thank you to the various researchers, friends, and coworkers who gave me feedback on this episode (and to my partner who listened to many drafts over the course of a weekend.) This episode was

en

2:38

Episode 10: Eastern VS Western Meadowlark ID – Voice...

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/06/21

Learn to tell the difference between Eastern and Western meadowlarks. Both the Eastern meadowlark and Western meadowlark can be found in Illinois. The Western is only occasional in the state, while the Eastern is common throughout. Both species have a tawny back and yellow front with a black v on their chest, sing while perched on fences and powerlines, and fly with rapid wingbeats interrupted by periods of gliding. The visual differences between the two birds are very subtle. The western

en

2:14

Episode 9: Eastern Meadowlark – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/06/14

Learn the song and call of the Eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna). This yellow-fronted bird with a black V on its chest often sings from fence posts and power lines. It’s fairly common anywhere grasses have been spared regular mowing. It nests on the ground where it forages for insects using a long pointed beak. When startled from its prairie or pasture home it flies away with rapid wingbeats then fans out its white-edged tail to catch the wind as it glides to a stop. Its call is harsh

en

1:41

Episode 8: Red-Eyed Vireo – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/06/07

Learn the song and call of the Red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceus). A key member of the summer orchestra, you’ll hear this common gray and olive bird on nearly every hike. It sings throughout the day, every day, seemingly every minute. Uttering short little phrases one after another as if it's just letting us know that it’s up there. It tends to slink about in the upper canopy inspecting the underside of leaves for caterpillars and other arthropods. Despite its name, its red iris is not always

en

2:00

Episode 7: Common Yellowthroat – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/05/31

Learn the song and call of the Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas). This big witchity-witchety song, often heard in tallgrass prairies and open marshes, comes from a little chunky warbler with a yellow throat and black mask. Males call out all summer long, sometimes popping out of the low reeds and grasses to do so. Listen out for their scolding rattle call anywhere there’s tall grass with a little water nearby. While Females lack the male’s distinctive black mask, they keep the yellow

en

5:03

Bonus: Periodical Cicadas – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/05/30

Learn to identify the seven species of periodical cicada (Magicicada) by their song. For a few weeks in 2024 all seven species of periodical cicada will be calling from different areas of Illinois. The collective chorus of these cicada broods can be deafening, but like any natural chorus, it consists of individual and identifiable singers. In this episode we’ll learn the handful of songs you can hear during 2024’s rare double emergence. The sounds used for this episode are from the

en

1:53

Episode 6: Yellow Warbler – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/05/24

Learn the song and call of the Yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia). You might find this little yellow bird in a stand of willows next to a pond or hear its call while walking past the shrubby edge of a creek. Its song is an anthem of the early summer and it’s sung in two phrases. The first goes “sweet sweet sweet” and the second can be heard as “I’m so sweet” or “song so sweet.” The singer is yellow from head to tail with just a tinge of olive across its back. In the breeding season the

en

2:02

Episode 5: Eastern Towhee – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/05/17

Learn the song and call of the Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus). A flash of black and white in a low brush pile is likely to be this robin-sized sparrow, and if you see a pair arresting dark red eyes peeking out from that dense tangle, you’ll know for sure. This bird has rufous sides and a white belly; features that stand out on otherwise dark plumage. Males display this dark plumage as a deep black, while females express it as an earthy brown. Be sure to remember to “drink your

en

7:11

Bonus: American Sycamore – Voice of the Wild

Voice of the Wild ·

2024/05/13

Headphones on! In our first bonus episode we won’t be hearing an animal’s song and learning its voice. Instead, we’ll be giving voice to a tree. We’ll be hearing about Platanus occidentalis, the American Sycamore, and it starts with a walk through the woods… Do you want to learn bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to time, we’ll also do a deep dive into wildlife science, news, and natural history. Voice of the

en

86 results

Similar Podcasts

Science Talk

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

五分钟心理学

柠檬心理

Daily Facts

Amalia Dupray and Montgomery Jones.

Les dents et dodo

BFMTV

Veterinary Clinical Podcasts

The Royal Veterinary College