{"id":4538,"date":"2013-08-31T23:56:12","date_gmt":"2013-09-01T05:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/?p=4538"},"modified":"2016-11-22T23:47:41","modified_gmt":"2016-11-23T05:47:41","slug":"long-calls-of-gulls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/archives\/4538","title":{"rendered":"Long Calls of Gulls"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Herring Gull in “oblique” posture at end of long call, Acadia National Park, Maine, 8\/3\/2008. Photo by Dick Daniels (CC 3.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A couple weeks ago, I was puzzling over a group of distant gulls on a reservoir in Wyoming.\u00a0 I was fairly sure they were all the same species, but through my binoculars, I couldn’t quite decide whether I was looking at Ring-billed or California Gulls.\u00a0 Then, from across the water, I heard one of them give a hoarse, slow “koo-WEEE? kweee? kweee? … QUIRK! …\u00a0 QUIRK!” and I confidently checked the “Ring-billed” box in my checklist app.<\/p>\n

As I wrote last year<\/a>, most people don’t listen to gulls much.\u00a0 But as I’ve paid more attention to them over the past year, I’ve realized that many species can indeed be identified by sound alone, and this fact has greatly improved my birding skills.\u00a0 In today’s post I’m hoping to provide a basic framework for beginning to identify some of the species by sound.<\/p>\n

What’s a “long call”?<\/h4>\n

The “long call” is the most complex vocalization in a gull’s repertoire, and one of the most frequently given. “Long calls” can be heard year-round in a variety of situations, but they most often serve as aggressive signals directed at other gulls.\u00a0 They vary within individuals based on excitement level, but individuals may be able to recognize each other by long call.\u00a0 The long calls of different species tend to sound rather different.<\/p>\n

You can think of the archetypal “long call” as containing three parts:<\/p>\n

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Ring-billed Gull long call, Washington County, Colorado, 9\/7\/2009<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nhttp:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Ring-billedGull_01_RBGUlongcall_PrewittCO-NDP2009-22-33_1200.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n
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  1. The intro notes<\/strong> are highly variable depending on the bird’s level of excitement, and are often totally absent.\u00a0 When present, they usually take the form of short barks, as in the example above; long mewing wails; or a mix of the two.<\/li>\n
  2. The squeals<\/strong> are the start of the long call proper.\u00a0 They are by far the loudest, and usually the longest and highest-pitched, notes in the call, and they usually coincide with a distinctive motion of the head, such as a deep bow and\/or a backward head toss.\u00a0 There are usually only 1-2 squeals, but occasionally three or even more if a bird is excited.\u00a0 (Some species don’t really “squeal” at this point in the call, but I couldn’t think of another good name for these notes.)<\/li>\n
  3. The terminal series<\/strong> is the series of similar notes that ends the call.\u00a0 The\u00a0 number of notes varies with excitement level, but the sound and speed of the notes tend to be fairly consistent within species, making this generally the most useful part of the call in identification.\u00a0 Most species adopt an “oblique” posture for the duration of the terminal series (see Herring Gull photo above), but some, like Ring-billed Gull, give distinctive motions of the head with each note.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Most large North American gulls sort out pretty well into groups that follow similar patterns in their long calls.<\/p>\n

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    • High yelpers<\/strong>, usually clear: Herring, Glaucous, Western, Glaucous-winged<\/li>\n
    • Low yelpers<\/strong>, often hoarse: California, Lesser Black-backed, Great Black-backed<\/li>\n
    • Slow squealers<\/strong>: Ring-billed and Mew<\/li>\n
    • Nasal<\/strong>: Heermann’s, Franklin’s, Laughing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The High Yelpers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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