Nine days ago, Eric Ripma found an Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush singing on territory in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota. Assuming the bird is wild and arrived under its own power, it is furnishing a jaw-dropping record — only the third north of the Mexican border, apparently, over 1200 miles farther north than the species has ever been known to venture before.
Andrew’s recent post on Spruce Grouse sounds made this YouTube video into a particularly nice find. Shot by birding guide Khanh Tran in Washington state, it documents the double wing-clap display of the “Franklin’s” subspecies of the Spruce Grouse. Very little information on the display of Franklin’s Grouse is easily available; Khanh Tran’s video appears to be the only one of its kind online.
Well, I’m back from two weeks in southern Sonora, recording bird sounds with an expedition led by the Sonoran Joint Venture and Western Field Ornithologists in the Sierra de Alamos / Rio Cuchujaqui Wildlife Protection Area. I’m still struggling to crawl out from under the massive pile of Things To Do Now That I’m Stateside, so I thought I’d just share with you a quick sample of some of the more interesting audio moments from the expedition.
There’s going to be a brief hiatus around here, as both of your Earbloggers are headed south of the border for a little while.
I just published my first feature article for Xeno-Canto, on geographic differences in the vocalizations of the Boat-billed Flycatcher (Megarynchus pitangua), a Central and South American species.
Spruce Grouse, that is. Depending on who you ask, how to actually find a Spruce Grouse is a matter of debate. I would say that it’s in the early spring, when the muffled wingbeats of displaying males echo softly through the forest.
In honor of Earbirding’s first birthday (yes, it was a year ago today that we went live), I’m posting today on the topic of getting older — and losing your hearing as you age.
On Boreal Owls, possible Boreal Owls, and non-Boreal Owls.
Cornell has re-released the classic Songs of the Warblers in MP3 format for digital download. The song recordings are just as high-quality as ever, but the collection desperately needs to be expanded and revised.
According to the grapevine, the AOU Checklist Committee has voted to split Whip-poor-will into two species. This split has been long anticipated, as the eastern and southwestern forms breed a thousand miles apart in different habitats, show slight average differences in size and plumage, and (most importantly for this blog) sing slightly different songs.