Polling all Blackpolls
On my first trip to northern Coos County, New Hampshire (in 2008), I heard a very high pitched, very fast trill that I did not recognize. Upon tracking it down I was rather surprised to see it was a singing Blackpoll Warbler.
The “Western” Flycatcher Problem
In 1989, the American Ornithologists’ Union split the Western Flycatcher into two species: Pacific-slope Flycatcher and Cordilleran Flycatcher. The conventional wisdom is that they are impossible to identify by plumage or structure, even in the hand. Voice is the only field mark. However, the situation with their vocalizations is quite messy, and worthy of an in-depth examination.
Describing What You Hear
You don’t need to know any fancy terminology, have any musical training, or use any “conceptual frameworks” when describing bird sounds — you just need to sit down and take the time to do each step carefully. It will change the way you listen, and it will change the way you talk about what you hear.
Subsong vs. Whisper Song
Both subsongs and whisper songs are fascinating, but they are not the same thing. Let’s look at the similarities and differences.
An Easter (n?) Phoebe
Another possible hybrid phoebe in Boulder, Colorado.
A Robin’s Many Songs
The American Robin may be the most familiar bird in North America, but for all its abundance and approachability, it remains in some ways inscrutable.
“Least” Bell’s Vireo
Recently, Elisabeth Ammon of the Great Basin Bird Observatory asked me for help in determining whether there are any vocal differences between the endangered “Least” Bell’s Vireo and the subspecies arizonae.
A Pygmy-Owl Challenge
Many people think that what we call “Northern Pygmy-Owl” may contain somewhere between two and four species, based on regional differences in vocalizations. Nobody knows exactly where the changes between these songtypes occur, or how abrupt they are, because we just don’t have enough data. Now, my friend Arch McCallum is setting out to get to the bottom of this tricky situation — and you can help.
How Many Tuftedcheeks?
Recently, on a trip to Costa Rica, I was able to record the song of nominate Buffy Tuftedcheek. I was completely unprepared for how different it sounded from Pacific Tuftedcheek. I’ve posted a few cuts I got in Costa Rica on xeno-canto, and written a feature comparing them.
To Stereotype or Not
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about stereotype. Not the racial or ethnic kind, but the degree to which a bird’s song is the same each time it’s sung. Are there any birds that sing non-stereotyped songs?