I enjoyed Jim Morgan's Cassin's Kingbird song immensely. It brings to mind
one of the lesser known aspects of bird recording. The flycatchers, in
particular, use pre-dawn songs that are almost never emulated during
daylight hours. Because of the lack of ambient light, ID is often difficult,
especially when dealing with neotropical species whose repertoire is poorly
known. Playback does not work because the birds are loathe to move in such a
vulnerable time (and should not be provoked to do so) so the only way to be
sure is often to light it up briefly to match a name to the song.
Pre-dawn songs seldom show up on commercial recordings and are
under-recorded in collections. One has to be virtually sleeping in the field
to become aware of them and one can only do so much in that critical half
hour. Yet Jim's recording points out that it could actually be one of the
most obvious vocalizations made by a species in the course of a day. If one
is censusing by recording, one needs the data in order to analyze pre-dawn
recordings accurately. For example, if one is looking for the presence of
Pheasant Cuckoo in suitable habitat, pre-dawn will be your only good chance.
Serendipity is a poor tool for inventory purposes. My point is that we could
use as many pre-dawn recordings in collections as possible, especially from
lesser known locations.
Thanks Jim.
Scott Connop
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