In case anyone is interested in the social/anthropological aspects of the c=
assowary, here are two intriguing articles from the literature, of which th=
ere is an abundance, at least in Papua New Guinea and Oceanic studies. Also=
Steven Feld writes at length on bird sound and Kaluli culture in Sound and=
Sentiment.
Sound and Sentiment: Birds, Weeping, Poetics and Song in Kaluli Expression,=
by Steven Feld
University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990
A Note on the Androgynous Qualities of the Cassowary: Or Why the Mianmin Sa=
y It Is Not a Bird, by D. S. Gardner
Oceania, Vol. 55, No. 2 (Dec., 1984), pp. 137-145
Why is the Cassowary Not a Bird? A Problem of Zoological Taxonomy Among the=
Karam of the New Guinea Highlands, by Ralph Bulmer
Man, New Series, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Mar., 1967), pp. 5-25
--- In "mipartitus" <> wrot=
e:
>
> Hi Marc,
>
> I measure a fundamental of, on average, around 40 Hz in your Southern Cas=
sowary's call. Given that the fundamental is the strongest harmonic in this=
call, except at the end where it goes down to 20-25 Hz, that is indeed *ve=
ry* low for a vocalization. Near-infrasound.
>
> I hadn't heard of such low vocalizations in birds, but it turns out it ha=
s been described already:
>
> Title: Low-frequency vocalizations by cassowaries (Casuarius spp.)
> Author(s): Mack, AL; Jones, J
> Source: AUK Volume: 120 Issue: 4 Pages: 1062-1068 DOI: 10.1642/000=
4-8038(2003)120[1062:LVBCCS]2.0.CO;2 Published: OCT 2003
>
> If you are interested and don't have access to Auk, I can send the pdf to=
you.
>
> If there are people that know of avian vocalizations below 40 Hz, I'd als=
o be very interested in hearing about it.
>
> Best, Gabriel
>
> --- In "wildambience" <marc@> wrote:
> >
> > The Southern Cassowary's call is apparently the lowest frequency known =
sound from any bird (if you can think of another contender I'd be intereste=
d to hear about it).
> >
> > I recorded this sample from a captive bird in a wildlife park near Sydn=
ey, Australia - all I had on hand was my Canon DSLR and this is the resulti=
ng audio file, not great but I was happy that the miniature mic even picked=
it up. Would love to record it again with some decent gear if I get the ch=
ance!
> >
> > https://soundcloud.com/wildambience/southern-cassowary-casuarius
> >
> > Hearing the call close up is incredible - sounds more like an large mam=
mal than a bird!
> >
> > Marc Anderson
> > http://wildambience.com
> >
>
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