I love this string discussing Merlin's great attributes and also its downfalls. The discussion on mimicry of American Goldfinches was very enlightening. I had no idea they did that! As with Merlin, I am always careful to be sure I am not hearing a Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, or even European Starling mimicking other species' calls or songs. Though I dislike seeing them in the US where they don't belong and are problematic, European Starlings are, in my estimation, underappreciated for their mimicry. I most often seem to hear them imitating Killdeer but also have heard them admirably imitate more complex songs like Common Nighthawks and Western Meadowlarks. As for Merlin, I too, have seen instances when it has misidentified a song, call, or even a mammal! In SD Black Hills one fall, I was hearing an elk bugling, and Merlin identified it as a Common Loon! I guess I can see some similarity but would love to see those spectographs side by side! I have several times seen Merlin identify singing Rose-breasted Grosbeaks as Black-headed Grosbeaks, especially if I am in an area where RBGR are less common and BHGR are common. I have noticed that sometimes when I pish, Merlin will identify a Bewick's Wren, and that several times, it has identified young Robin calls as Cedar Waxwings, which can sound somewhat similar. Another thing I have noticed is that sometimes the louder songs are not "heard" by eBird, but it ALWAYS seems to pick up on Cedar Waxwings, though their song is faint and wispy. On my last trip through Montana, Merlin several times showed Blue Grosbeak, though I am not sure what song/sound was signaling that...so, user beware, but what a powerful tool Merlin can be when used correctly! I find that turning it on while I bird when there is a lot of activity helps me keep track of the species so I can just listen and look...then, when I enter them into the eBird app, if there is one I did not see or hear, I can pay attention and see if I missed it or if it was likely a misidentification. I never just trust Merlin without verifying. Thanks for the great discussion!
Diane T in Laramie, WY
On Tuesday, July 21, 2026 at 02:48:59 PM MDT, Mary Clausen via groups.io <mkclausen...> wrote:
This would be very good to add to the NE Discord app. However, it is too long and I cannot add it.
Mary Clausen La Vista, NE
On Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 10:11 AM Kathy DeLara via groups.io <renosmom...> wrote:
Hi , I thought you all might be interested in Cheryl's post about her Merlin experiences this summer. I had no idea that goldfinches would mimic other birds. I find that very interesting. Kathy DeLaraMicthell, NE
----------Forwarded Message----------
From: "Ricky Olson via groups.io" <olsonr088...>
Reply-To: <olsonr088...>
To: <killdeer54...>
Cc: "SDOU Listserv (groups.io)" <sd-birds...>
Sent: July 20, 2026 at 2:54 PM MDT
Subject: Re: [sd-birds] TLDR: Am. Goldfinches mimic Ovenbirds Thanks for sharing the interesting information.
On Mon, Jul 20, 2026 at 3:52 PM Cheryl Vellenga via groups.io <killdeer54...> wrote:
The admonition to "trust but verify" when using either the Merlin app or our own ear-birding skills is as important as ever and even more challenging when a myriad of new bird sounds bombard us during this period of the breeding season. I'll share a few of my own recent experiences to underscore this reminder. In the past couple of weeks I've been hearing clear, emphatic, perfectly rendered ovenbird songs in my yard. Initially, I was confused because if there were breeders in the yard I would've been hearing them all summer, which I hadn't this year since spring migration. That alone was enough to keep me from reporting it until I could verify the observation. In the ensuing days, amidst the cacophony, I would hear the song on occasion, always out of nowhere, sung once (TEACHer repeated 5-7x), and that was it, so there was no chance of getting a recording. Yesterday, I finally caught an American Goldfinch belting out the song and immediately going into typical Goldfinch song. A Google search on the phenomenon schooled me on the talented mimicry of American Goldfinches and that one of their favorite birds to mimic is the Ovenbird because of the song's simplicity and clarity. The last 2 weeks of July are when the breeding season (and thus the singing) of Ovenbirds is ending but the Goldfinch breeding season (and their singing) is at its peak. There've been several House Wren pairs nesting around the yard as usual, and one couple nested in a large wiring conduit elbow that goes to the transformer near the deck, making it easy to watch the family's progress. When the nestlings began vocalizing their raspy, ardent begging calls, Merlin always, and I mean always, called them Marsh Wrens. It had done this off and on throughout the summer but I ignored the ID when it was in the yard. For the past several days, I've been hearing and recording calls that I couldn't place and Merlin absolutely will not ID. Days of sleuthing revealed finally that the calls are coming from the many Rose-breasted Grosbeak fledglings that were being fed in the surrounding trees by the parents, but are now coming to the feeders themselves. The Sibley app lists the calls as "teeyoo calls (immature)" and "turlee calls (immature)". Merlin does not recognize these calls even when I play them right on my phone with Merlin listening. This morning, Merlin ID'd an American Robin in the yard as a Northern Flicker because the cadence was correct. I love using Merlin as an aid, especially in alerting me that certain birds may be nearby. I can listen for them myself to verify its findings or I can look for the birds if need be. Knowing that Merlin uses spectrograms to ID bird sounds reminds us that a matching spectrogram, if made by a skilled mimic (or even baby House Wrens), will be matched to a corresponding graph in Merlin's database. Cheryl Vellenga
Sisseton, SD
