I have heard Hermit Thrush give a call like that, interestingly I have also heard Gray-cheeked, Swainsons, and Veery give an alternate "flight" call note. These notes sounds a bit harsher and blurry or jumbled in quality, if that makes sense. At least Swainson's and Gray-cheeked have more than one call variation like this. I first heard these calls while I had them in the hand while I was recording flight calls in captivity at Powdermill (Auk 126-3: 511-519). I could never get them to make the calls while in the cone for a recording, always while I had them in the hand transferring them to the cone. Swainson's calls almost sounds like a "grrring" sound added to the calls and a bit shorter. Ethan, what you posted sounds very much like what I have heard form Veerys. Bill Cohran has recorded the other call I have heard from Swainson's I think, he told me he had one when I described the call to him. I have since heard all these calls at night, without having hearing them beforehand I would not have know what they were, although I have since heard calls similar to a few of these on the breeding grounds, so I bet they would be in the Macaulay Library if someone had the time to look there!
Michael Lanzone mlanz...@gmail.com On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 3:56 PM, Michael O'Brien <tsw...@comcast.net> wrote: > Alll, > > This has been a fun thread spun off Jeff's original post. But I have to > say, what really caught my attention from listening to his video clip was > that second call note which has a distinctly burry quality. To my ear, it > sounds very similar to a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I don't recall ever hearing > a Hermit Thrush give a call like that. Has anyone else? > > thanks, > Michael > > Michael O'Brien > Victor Emanuel Nature Tours > www.ventbird.com > ------------------------------ > *From: *"Jeff Wells" <jwe...@intlboreal.org> > *To: *"Nocturnal Flight Call ListServe" <nfc-l@cornell.edu> > *Sent: *Tuesday, October 11, 2011 5:09:41 PM > *Subject: *[nfc-l] Hermit Thrush flight calls on ground > > > Yesterday morning I was out in my suburban yard in south-central Maine > watching a nice morning flight of birds moving over and through when I began > hearing the “chuck” call of a Hermit Thrush from the neighbor’s backyard. > Soon it began alternating between the “chuck” call and the drawn-out “whee” > nocturnal flight call. I went inside to get my camera to record it (my > recording gear was packed away) and by then it had flown up across the > street into the top of a tree. At that point it began just doing the flight > call with no more of the “chuck” call and then it moved to another taller > tree 100 yards away where it stayed and continued doing the call for a bit > before suddenly stopping. It may have flown away or it may have just stopped > calling and dropped down somewhere nearby but I never saw or heard it again. > > > > I was able to get some of the calls on some video clips, one of which I > posted up on my YouTube channel for anyone interested. I think I have some > recordings of Hermit Thrushes interspersing the nocturnal call into songs > during the breeding season and I know I have a recording of a Swainson’s > Thrush doing that. > > > > Anyway, you can hear the calls on the video titled “Hermit Thrush giving > nocturnal flight call” at: http://www.youtube.com/birdconservation > > > > Interestingly, the second call it gives on the video is much burrier than > what I think of as normal and some of the calls seem a bit shorter than what > I am used to hearing at night. > > > > Jeff Wells > > Gardiner, Maine > -- > *NFC-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NFC_WELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NFC_RULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and > Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NFC-L_SubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html> > *Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/> > !* > -- > -- > *NFC-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NFC_WELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NFC_RULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and > Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NFC-L_SubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html> > *Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/> > !* > -- > -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC-L_SubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
