Hi Rich,
I record them almost every night here in Central Illinois during
summer. But I have not heard any since the 1st of November.
Stan Courtney
www.stancourtney.com
--- In "Jim Morgan" <>
wrote:
>
> Welcome home Rich.
>
> Here is some information from Bent on the Eastern Screech that you
might
> find interesting, but nothing on winter calls.
>
> Jim
>
> Jim Morgan
> Prescott, Arizona USA
> http://www.wingsofnature.com
>
> "Voice: The name of this owl is somewhat unfortunate, as it very
seldom
> indulges in anything that can rightly be called a screech. Mr.
Forbush
> (1927) heard such a note from only one individual, of which he
says: "It
> resembled the note of the siren whistle, beginning low and full and
> gradually rising without the usual tremolo until it ended in a
shrill
> shriek."
>
> Francis H. Allen has given me his description of two of the notes:
(1) "the
> well-known wail, or whinny, the so-called love song, consisting of a
> succession of short, even, low notes delivered with varying degrees
of
> rapidity. It also varies in pitch. Sometimes the first part is slow
and the
> latter part rapid, virtually a trill"; (2) "wheeoo, a mellow
whistle with a
> falling inflection, often followed by three shorter notes, each a
very
> little higher in pitch than the preceding note: 'wheeoo, woo, woo,
woo."
>
> I am tempted to quote Thoreau's (Langille, 1884) graphic
description of the
> love song; he says: "It is no honest and blunt ti-whit, tint who of
the
> poets, but, without jesting, a most solemn, graveyard ditty, the
mutual
> consolations of suicide lovers remembering the pangs and the
delights of
> supernal love in the infernal groves. * * * Oh-o-o-o-o that I had
never been
> bor-r-r-r-r-n sighs one on this side of the pond, and circles with
the
> restlessness of despair to some new perch on the gray oaks. Then:
that I
> never had been bor-r-r-r-n echoes another on the further side with
tremulous
> sincerity, and bor-r-r-r-n comes faintly from far in Lincoln woods."
>
> The screech owl's call is seldom heard until after dark, but Mr.
Kalter
> tells me that he has heard it calling on at least three occasions
in bright
> daylight, at 11.30 a. m. and 1.15 and 2 p. m. On two occasions he
has heard
> one calling while in flight, once while being chased by a robin.
Dr. Winsor
> M. Tyler contributes the following good description of the screech
owl's
> notes:
>
> "The commonest note of the screech owl is a whistle, well within
human
> range, which, rising a little in pitch, becomes tremulous, then
slides down
> below the starting point, the tremulous quality becoming so marked
that,
> near the end, the voice is almost divided into separate notes. The
whole has
> a sad, dreary effect, due rather to the tone of voice and the
sliding change
> of pitch than to any minor intervals.
>
> "The owl varies this cry in several ways. The note may begin on
various
> pitches: that is, one wail may be markedly higher or lower than the
wail
> preceding it; the pitch may rise very little, or it may rise two or
more
> tones before it falls at the end; the pitch may fall a varying
degree,
> sometimes three or four tones; and a fourth variation is at the
beginning of
> the cry when the quavering quality is delayed appreciably.
>
> "A second note, less common than the wail in proportion of about 1
to 10,
> may be suggested by the letters ho-ho-ho-ho, pronounced with a good
deal of
> aspirate quality. This series of notes is generally given alone,
but it may
> sometimes immediately follow the wail. The pitch of this call is
about five
> tones below the highest note of the wail, and as a rule does not
vary,
> although it occasionally runs upward a little. It is sometimes
heard in the
> daytime.
>
> "I have often heard another note in August and early in September,
when
> several owls: presumably a family out hunting: had gathered 'in the
dead
> vast and middle of the night' and were calling to one another from
the trees
> about Lexington Common. Among the subdued whinnyings and tremulous
owlish
> coos, there comes out of the darkness a sharp cry: almost human, or
like a
> little child's voice: a cry like keerr, sometimes rolling at the
end. It is
> about as long as a flicker's call note, and moves about as the bird
flies
> from one perch to another. Sometimes the note is uttered with so
much energy
> that it suggests excitement or eagerness.
>
> "It seems probable that this is the call of a fledgling owl,
signaling its
> whereabouts to its parents while they are away, searching for food
among the
> branches of the trees, or on the grass underneath. On one occasion,
when the
> owls were about the house, at 1 o'clock in the morning, I heard the
shriek
> of a robin burst out of the night."
>
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