A frequent topic of discussion on this blog is what we don’t know about bird sounds. Another favorite topic is how amateur recordists might help solve mysteries — and advance science — by recording common birds in their own backyards. Now, as most of North America languishes in the middle of a deep, dark winter, I’d like to point out a golden opportunity for citizen science — a chance to answer questions about a bird that many people know, but few really understand. [Read more]
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David Sibley was gracious enough to reply to my recent post on Buff-collared Nightjar, first in a comment on my blog, then yesterday in a post on his own blog. I respond to him here with some thoughts on how I listen to bird sounds. [Read more] In which I point out what appears to be a 45-year old mistake in the ornithological literature. [Read more] In the first two parts of this series we explored the “quank” calls, which are some of the most common vocalizations of the three populations, and the “fast songs.” Today we’ll investigate two more types of rapid-fire calls, the “rapid quanks” and the “hit-trills,” and then I’ll leave the subject of nuthatches alone for a little while! [Read more] Here in Colorado, we have both the “Rocky Mountain” and “Eastern” forms of the White-breasted Nuthatch, and I’ve heard a couple of people proclaim that any bird giving a rapid-fire series of calls is a Rocky Mountain individual, while any bird giving a single “yank” note is an Eastern. Unfortunately, it’s more complicated than that. [Read more] Birders have known for a number of years now that White-breasted Nuthatches sort out into three distinct vocal groups in North America: Pacific, Rocky Mountain, and Eastern. However, with the exception of field guides, the ornithological literature has been silent on this point. Thus, starting with this post, I’m going to start exploring these vocal differences in some depth. [Read more] While going through the Macaulay Library’s collection of Common Nighthawk vocalizations, I came upon something strange: a recording of what might be a hybrid Common x Antillean Nighthawk from south Florida. [Read more] During the two weeks I spent walking around in the White River National Wildlife Refuge in 2006, I had many spectacular close-up encounters with wildlife, but the most amazing was with a male Prothonotary Warbler. [Read more] I have a confession to make. [Read more] It was a wet and foggy day in April. I was standing in a damp little nook in dense woods, long before the first leaves would even think about opening, weeks before most migrating birds would get within a thousand miles of southeast South Dakota, listening to a cascade of musical notes that seemed like it would never end. It was echoing off the trees and the mossy banks, coming from somewhere tantalizingly close — but from exactly where, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out. [Read more] |
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