Walt,
Yes this type of sound, a broad band sound, can mimic the ground-based
predator alarm calls of a host of birds and other small creatures such
as squirrels and even our Mormon crickets here in Utah. Birders "pish"
to create a similar effect. A broad band sound is easy to localize for
a listener, quickly attracting the attention of other small creatures to
alert them to the presence of a relatively slow or stationary danger
such as a perched owl or a cat.
The alarm to warn of an aerial predator such as a sharp-shinned hawk on
the other hand needs to warn others of danger without revealing the
location of the whistle blower. Many species use a very high frequency
thin zeeeeeeeeeet call for this purpose, heard, but hard to localize. I
have heard this sound on a few occasions (an American Robin in my yard
and a Sage thrasher in the sage desert), only to quickly look up and see
a Coopers or Sharp shinned hawk cruise by. It is so fleeting and rare
that I have never captured it on tape. If one of you do record this
call, prize the catch.
Good recording,
Kevin Colver
-----Original Message-----
From: Walter Knapp
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 1:28 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] A bird's response to ATRAC
From: "Kevin J. Colver" <>
> Thus if we want a natural assay on the quality of a recorded sound we
> may not want to use the response of a territorial male to judge the
> quality of our sounds!
Or the females, they can be attracted with the audubon birdcall. A piece
of wood in which you rotate a piece of metal, making various noises. In
the hands of a expert that's very good with both sexes.
Walt
"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
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