This is Bird Note. The songs of two common finches provide a steady soundtrack in cities across

North America. There's the house finch and the American gold finch. While they can sound similar, a couple of key features help set them apart.

House Finches sing sweetly, but often have a sharp, buzzy note near the end. Listen.

American goldfinches improvise the order of their songs, which can make them confusing to ID at first.

But the songs have a few things in common.

Goldfinches sing rapidly, often repeating a note several times.

And while not part of the song, a singing American goldfinch might make the species

signature call, which sounds a bit like someone saying potato chip.

So, one more time. Here's a house finch, more melodic and with a buzzing note near the end.

And here's an American goldfinch saying potato chip and repeating notes.

Listen for these birds singing over the sidewalk from spring to the end of summer.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.

Support for Bird Note is provided by Mary Piggott from Seattle, Washington,

and generous listeners around the world.