Hello Olivier, I accept that to more experienced NA ears the Swiss call does not sit comfortably with Swainson’s Thrush. Bill Evans told me it ends at a frequency that would make it atypical for the species, and some clear modulation would also be desirable.
However, the Chaffinch call you are referring to is not a flight call but a breeding season call used in a songlike manner. I’ve never heard it after the summer. The two flight calls of Chaffinch are a low, soft, rapidly descending ‘puw’ and a loud, bright ‘pink’, especially when flying alone. I also hear finches at night now and then, but of the genus Fringilla i’ve heard Brambling a few times and almost never Chaffinch despite Brambling being much less common. Other night finches here include European Goldfinch and, this year in particular, Hawfinch. Best, Magnus > On 10 Nov 2017, at 02:22, Olivier Barden <iridosor...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Magnus, > > The Swiss recording does not sound like a Swainson's Thrush to me, other than > superficially. The spectrographic signature of this call doesn't look right, > either. Could this simply be a Chaffinch? Its quite low-pitched, and there > seems to be a bit of echo. I rarely hear finches at night in North > America--they are for the most part diurnal migrants, like Chaffinch--but it > happens. Compare with this recording: http://www.xeno-canto.org/381677 > > Regards, > > Olivier Barden > Quebec, Canada > >> On Thu, Nov 9, 2017 at 5:52 AM, Magnus Robb <magnus.r...@me.com> wrote: >> I like the idea of a detector for Catharus thrushes on Scilly! But there are >> two places perhaps better qualified than that. This year saw three records >> in Cork, southwest Ireland and just one on Scilly. But the ‘European’ >> capital for North American vagrants is now Corvo in the Azores (actually >> it’s on the North American side of the mid-Atlantic ridge!). Have a look at >> this list of what was found there this autumn. >> >> http://birdingcorvo2013.blogspot.pt >> >> Talking of Catharus thrushes in unexpected places, I’d be interested to know >> what North Americans make of this. I was surfing around on Xeno-canto the >> other day and I came across this mystery NFC recorded by Thomas Lüthi (CC) >> in his garden in Switzerland in September 2015. To me it sounds like a >> Swainson’s Thrush, and I can’t think of anything European that comes this >> close. How does it sound to people with real experience of this species? I >> only know the NFC of Swainson’s from recordings. >> >> http://www.xeno-canto.org/386520 >> >> all the best, >> >> Magnus Robb >> >> >> > On 09 Nov 2017, at 00:08:26, Ted Floyd <tfl...@aba.org> wrote: >> > >> > Sure looks (and sounds) like it to me. I think you can even rule out >> > Bicknell's, haha. >> > >> > As you say, it is exciting. This brings up something I've been meaning to >> > propose: Given how many Gray-cheeked and Swainson's thrushes are actually >> > seen in Britain, it occurs to me that it might be cool to put up a >> > detector on the Isles of Scilly pointing out toward the ocean. Especially >> > near a light, if there is one. We all know the truism that you can hear >> > more Gray-cheeks in an hour than you might see in a lifetime. If that >> > applies to thrushes excitedly approaching the British Isles, imagine how >> > many thrushes you might detect that way. >> > >> > Best, --Ted >> > >> > Ted Floyd >> > Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado >> > >> > =================================== >> > >> > Ted Floyd >> > Editor, Birding magazine >> > Managing Editor, North American Birds >> > >> > Website: http://aba.org/birding >> > Twitter: http://twitter.com/BirdingMagazine >> > The ABA Blog: http://blog.aba.org/ >> > >> > On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 3:09 PM, Debbie Leick <dle...@mpgranch.com> wrote: >> > Hey folks, >> > Could this be anything other than a Gray-cheeked Thrush? We get many >> > Swainson's Thrush but this is so different. Recorded in Victor, MT, >> > 9/14/17, ~5:45am. It would be a first for us since we began monitoring in >> > 2012. Also, I could not find any records of GCTH west of the Montana >> > continental divide in either eBird or the MT Natural Heritage Program >> > database. So if it is, a very exciting record for us! >> > Thanks in advance for any guidance! >> > Debbie >> > >> > -- >> > NFC-L List Info: >> > Welcome and Basics >> > Rules and Information >> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> > Archives: >> > The Mail Archive >> > Surfbirds >> > Birding.ABA.Org >> > Please submit your observations to eBird! >> > -- >> > >> > -- >> > NFC-L List Info: >> > Welcome and Basics >> > Rules and Information >> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> > Archives: >> > The Mail Archive >> > Surfbirds >> > Birding.ABA.Org >> > Please submit your observations to 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 >> Birding.ABA.Org – http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NFC >> >> 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 Birding.ABA.Org � http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NFC Please submit your observations to eBird! ��http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
