Dear recordists,
In the Netherlands we have a returning discussion on a nightly bird call
which is either ascribed to Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) or European Coot
(Fulica atra). More info and sounds on my website at
http://www.home.zonnet.nl/myotis/owlcoot.htm (you can skip the rather long
intro and focus on the soundfiles given). Basically people living in the
western part of our country say it is Coot (although also quite some people
still consider it LeO) and people in the eastern part consider it LeO. The
latter usually keep saying that they cannot imagine it is Coot, since there
is no suitable habitat for miles around. There are also claimed sightings of
owls making this sound.
I was wondering what birders/bird recordists in other countries think about
this. Imagine you are out at night and hear this call, slowly moving around
at low
altitude, and there is no pond or other Coot-habitat for miles around, what
would you consider it to be?
I have posted this request on UK birdnet as well as Euro Birdnet (EBN), but
only got one response each. So therefore I now try the community of
recordists. Assuming that American Coot (F. americana) may show a similar
behavior, this question may also apply for that part of the world.
With kind regards,
Rombout de Wijs
Hilversum - The Netherlands
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