Wow Chris, you have a good ear! I wouldn’t have been able to call that a
species in the bunting complex simply based on the spectrogram, but I agree on
listening that is likely what it is. Based on the apparent spectrographic
frequency envelope of the call, it would be a lowish bunting type that
qualifies for Blue Grosbeak consideration. But this is another case like
Bicknell’s versus Gray-cheeked in that we (as far as I know) don’t know the
potential overlap of low INBUs and high BLGRs. In a quick look at a hundred or
so bunting types I’ve recorded in New York and northern Ohio this spring, most
are double-banded (presumed syrinx action) and the higher bands are well above
7 kHz while the lower band ranges down into the 5.5 kHz range. But there are a
few cases in these data when loud calls show only one band. In one from central
NY a few nights ago, the whole single-banded call is contained within the
5.6-6.6 kHz envelop.
Your call is a low one and your BLGR speculation is warranted. However, at the
rate progress in flight call IDs is going, and like your martin siting from a
decade or so ago, I suspect you won’t find an answer in your present
incarnation.
Bill E
From: Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 8:12 PM
To: NFC-L
Subject: [nfc-l] Potentially Interesting NFC for Upstate NY
I encountered the following NFC while going through data (manual browsing - low
call count nights...not bad) from the night of 12-13 May. This bird called once
somewhat distant from my listening station in Etna, NY, at approximately
01:52AM.
This is very intriguing to me, because it is noticeably lower in frequency than
Indigo Bunting and is slightly descending in frequency over the duration of the
call. This is suggestive of Blue Grosbeak, but I am curious to know what others
think. This is the first time I have encountered such a low frequency "Indigo
Bunting"...
As labeled, one file is amplified and filtered, while the other is the original
unfiltered clip.
Comments? Thoughts?
Thanks!
Sincerely,
Chris T-H
--
Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
TARU Product Line Manager and Field Applications Engineer
Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
W: 607-254-2418 M: 607-351-5740 F: 607-254-1132
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp
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