Classical music about birds for kids

Birds sing, and composers have been copying them for centuries. A flute can chirp, a clarinet can call “cuckoo,” and a violin can soar like a lark. This page has pieces for nine kinds of birds, with the instrument that plays each one.

Birds and their instruments

Bird	Piece	Played by
Songbirds	“Spring” from The Four Seasons, by Vivaldi	Three violins
A small bird	Peter and the Wolf, by Prokofiev	Flute
Cuckoo	Pastoral Symphony, by Beethoven	Two clarinets
Nightingale	Pastoral Symphony, by Beethoven	Flute
Swan	“The Swan,” by Saint-Saëns	Cello
Hens and roosters	The Carnival of the Animals, by Saint-Saëns	Pianos, violins, and a clarinet
Chicks	Pictures at an Exhibition, by Mussorgsky	High woodwinds
Lark	The Lark Ascending, by Vaughan Williams	Solo violin
Firebird	The Firebird, by Stravinsky	The whole orchestra

Songbirds

“Spring,” from The Four Seasons, by Vivaldi. A few seconds after the start, three violins trill and chirp to each other. Vivaldi wrote “the song of the birds” in the score. See The Four Seasons guide.

“Aviary,” from The Carnival of the Animals, by Saint-Saëns. The flute flutters high above the strings. See the Carnival guide.

The bird in Peter and the Wolf, by Prokofiev. High, quick notes that hop and fly. Read the Peter and the Wolf story.

Cuckoos and nightingales

The Pastoral Symphony, second movement, by Beethoven. Near the end, the orchestra stops, and three birds sing alone: a nightingale on the flute, a quail on the oboe, and a cuckoo on two clarinets. See the Pastoral Symphony guide.

“The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods,” from The Carnival of the Animals. A clarinet plays the same two notes again and again, from far away.

“The Cuckoo,” by Daquin. A quick harpsichord piece from 1735. The two-note call hides in the left hand.

The Toy Symphony. A cuckoo, a quail, and a nightingale, played on toy whistles. Read the Toy Symphony for kids.

Swans

“The Swan,” by Saint-Saëns. The cello glides over two rippling pianos. See what to hear.

Swan Lake, by Tchaikovsky. An oboe plays the swan queen’s sad tune over a harp. Read the Swan Lake story.

Symphony No. 5, last movement, by Sibelius. Sibelius saw 16 swans fly over his house and wrote down a theme. The horns swing back and forth between notes like great wings. Read Sibelius for kids.

Hens and chicks

“Hens and Roosters,” from The Carnival of the Animals. Pianos and violins peck, and a clarinet crows.

“Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks,” by Mussorgsky. Chicks dance while they are still half inside their shells. It lasts about a minute. See the Pictures at an Exhibition guide.

Symphony No. 83, “The Hen,” by Haydn. In the first movement, an oboe clucks on one note while the violins hop.

Larks and thrushes

The Lark Ascending, by Vaughan Williams. A solo violin climbs and circles, higher and higher, over a soft orchestra. Read Vaughan Williams for kids.

“A Hermit Thrush at Morn,” by Amy Beach. A piano piece built on the song of a real bird. Beach wrote down the notes of a thrush that she heard. Read Amy Beach for kids.

Magic birds

The Firebird, by Stravinsky. A glowing bird helps a prince defeat a wicked sorcerer. See the Firebird guide.

The Bluebird, from The Sleeping Beauty, by Tchaikovsky. A flute and a clarinet flutter while the Bluebird dances at the wedding. Read the Sleeping Beauty ballet story.

Real birds in the orchestra

Pines of Rome, by Respighi. At the end of the third part, the score calls for a recording of a real nightingale.

Cantus Arcticus, by Einojuhani Rautavaara. A Finnish composer wrote this “concerto for birds and orchestra” in 1972. Taped songs of Arctic birds play along with the players.

Mozart’s starling. Mozart kept a starling for three years. The bird could whistle a tune from one of his piano concertos. Read Mozart facts for kids.

How instruments copy birds

• A trill. Two notes, swapped as fast as the fingers can go.
• Two falling notes. The cuckoo’s call.
• Short, pecking notes. Hens and chicks.
• A long, smooth line. A swan on the water.
• High notes. Small birds sing high, so flutes, piccolos, and violins get the job.

Things to do together

Name the bird. Play five clips in a mixed order. Your child calls out the bird.

Listening walk. Walk outside for ten minutes with no talking. Count the bird songs you hear.

Copy a call. Pick one bird you heard. Sing its call, and then try to play it on a recorder or a piano.

Bird or not? Play “Aviary,” and then “The Elephant.” Ask which is the bird, and how you know.

Draw the flock. Draw the 16 swans while the Sibelius plays.

Print and play

Use a listening journal page to draw one bird. Tick the flute and the clarinet on the instrument families listening chart. Read classical music about animals for kids and spring classical music for kids.