Birding by ear is a hobby that can also be taken up by the blind. While you are learning a new song you have to track down the singer. This can be slow and discouraging. Sparrows, always sensitive to trespassers, flip through tall grasses and show themselves so briefly that the beginner has the greatest difficulty in getting all the field marks. Warblers move swiftly through the tops of high trees.
Persistence is often a requirement for some aspects of bird-watching.
One of the simplest ways to learn bird songs is to listen to recordings. Play them many times during the winter so you will recognize them when you first hear them in the spring. They can almost double this speed for escape or pursuit. The champion is the peregrine falcon. The wild bird with the longest recorded lifespan is the royal albatross, which exceeds 58 years.