I'll trade you a link to Singing Insects of North America, which has someth=
ing very similar to what you're looking for, to a source for your book! I =
identified my cicadas in a very short time with this site.=20
http://buzz.ifas.ufl.edu/
Kevin Colver <> wrote:
Syd,
I just got myself a present, the book "Acoustic Communication in Insects
and Anurans" by H. Carl Gerhardt and Franz Huber. Great book with tons
of detailed information! It is opening my ears to what is happening
with the cicadas, katydids, and crickets I used to find an annoyance.
Now I try to record any insects I come across during my recording
adventures. I hope that someday someone will have a sound field guide
to help me identify the recordings I am making.
Kevin J Colver
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Syd Curtis
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 5:55 AM
To:
Subject: [Nature Recordists] Human noise and wildlife sounds
Don Lloyd wrote (9/5/05):
> <snip>
> I believe some critters take advantage of pink noise 'confusing the
space',
> as you put it. Whilst recording in marshes, I've noticed frogs and
red-wing
> blackbirds (among others) piping up when a jet plane blankets the area
in
> pink noise, or when a diesel truck downshifts on a nearby hill. When
the jet
> or truck fades away, the frog chorus has reached critical mass and
continues
> on its own for a while, only to eventually die down and await the next
> protective, predator-disorienting pink blanket.
>
>
Australia's Albert's Lyrebirds, whose vocalisations I've studied in some
depth, are smarter. They don't waste their energy singing when they
can't
be heard. There's very little song from them when strong winds or heavy
rain fill their subtropical rainforest habitat with noise.
Sad that our old mate Walter is no longer a subscriber. I'm almost sure
he
once wrote of the adverse effect of heavy noise on some species of frogs
that synchronise their calls thus making it difficult for potential
predators to locate the source of the sound of any one individual. If
say
loud aircraft noise drowns out the sound of their calls they get out of
sync
and are then more at risk.
Here in Brisbane (Australia) the Bottle Cicada (Glaucopsaltria viridis)
is
common in our suburban gardens. Like many cicadas, the males all sing
at
the same time, thus making it difficult to locate any one individual.
With
just one's ears, that is. Klas's so excellent and highly directional
Telinga mic and reflector make it easy. They sing at dusk:
"Continuous
and without apparent variation", is how Dr Max Moulds author of the book
"Australian Cicadas", describes it. But that is not all.
During the day they have a very different and far from obvious call.
Just a
few (up to 5) short sharp 'bips' over a second or so. Then silence for
several minutes. Also very effective in making it difficult to locate
the
insect by the sound. (And incidentally, using Peak LE software and a
Mac
computer, I have strung these bips together without spaces between them,
and
produced their continuous dusk song.)
To locate one during the day, play a recording of the continuous dusk
song,
and the cicada just has to join in. He won't keep going for long after
you
stop the recording, but you can start him again.
The dusk song of course is to attract females for mating. The song
changes
if a female arrives. I surmise that the intermittent day song is aimed
at
males - to enable each to maintain his personal space. I hoped to test
this
by concealing a small speaker fairly close to a male and playing a
recording
of the spaced out day song. Unfortunately my garden is very small; I'd
have
to use the garden next door. This was a possibility but the house was
sold
and the new owners cleared the whole area - all trees and shrubs have
gone,
and there'll be no cicadas.
But back to mechanical noise. At one stage someone used a motor-mower
with
a whine of just the right pitch to match the cicadas dusk song. And
they
joined in!
Cheers
Syd
"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
SPONSORED LINKS
Science
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=3Dms&k=3DScience+kits&w1=3DScience+kits&w2=
=3DSci
ence+education&w3=3DScience+kit+for+kid&w4=3DNatural+sound&w5=3DRecording+t=
ech
nique&w6=3DMy+first+science+kit&c=3D6&s=3D136&.sig=3DJhn1currUilF0d19gW0Mjg=
>
kits
Science
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=3Dms&k=3DScience+education&w1=3DScience+kit=
s&w
2=3DScience+education&w3=3DScience+kit+for+kid&w4=3DNatural+sound&w5=3DReco=
rding
+technique&w6=3DMy+first+science+kit&c=3D6&s=3D136&.sig=3DHyWZN9ToxXtStaGoR=
PMCjA
> education
Science
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=3Dms&k=3DScience+kit+for+kid&w1=3DScience+k=
its
&w2=3DScience+education&w3=3DScience+kit+for+kid&w4=3DNatural+sound&w5=3DRe=
cordi
ng+technique&w6=3DMy+first+science+kit&c=3D6&s=3D136&.sig=3D3T4YzPpIGdoQmdH=
MnbzK
_Q> kit for kid
Natural
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=3Dms&k=3DNatural+sound&w1=3DScience+kits&w2=
=3DSc
ience+education&w3=3DScience+kit+for+kid&w4=3DNatural+sound&w5=3DRecording+=
tec
hnique&w6=3DMy+first+science+kit&c=3D6&s=3D136&.sig=3Dz5jgOfzLglANMjK3RXbIj=
g>
sound
Recording
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=3Dms&k=3DRecording+technique&w1=3DScience+k=
its
&w2=3DScience+education&w3=3DScience+kit+for+kid&w4=3DNatural+sound&w5=3DRe=
cordi
ng+technique&w6=3DMy+first+science+kit&c=3D6&s=3D136&.sig=3DQiTZeUz5Wz49Cit=
WQDXW
wA> technique
My
<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads?t=3Dms&k=3DMy+first+science+kit&w1=3DScience+=
kit
s&w2=3DScience+education&w3=3DScience+kit+for+kid&w4=3DNatural+sound&w5=3DR=
ecord
ing+technique&w6=3DMy+first+science+kit&c=3D6&s=3D136&.sig=3D6cFmwyoAHl6b5q=
qZHPp
z3A> first science kit
_____=20
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
* Visit your group "naturerecordists
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists> " on the web.
=20
* To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
<=3DUnsubscribe
>
=20
* Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo!
<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> Terms of Service.
_____=20
--- [This E-mail scanned for viruses by CSolutions.net]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
SPONSORED LINKS
Science kits Science education Science kit for kid Natural sound Recording =
technique My first science kit
---------------------------------
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
Visit your group "naturerecordists" on the web.
=20
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
=20
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
=09=09
---------------------------------
Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
|