Paul Moorehead and Dennis Paulson posted recently on the pitch of owl
voices, with some speculation whether the male or female voice tends to be
the higher.

I wonder how reliable pitch really is? I'm sure many Tweeters have noticed
the large variation in natural pitch of owls' voices, and I've had a little
fun on a couple of occasions testing just how far the envelope could be
stretched.

Especially with Pygmy Owls, but also with Western Screech Owls, I have
purposely tried whistling at various pitches, to see how the owls would
respond. I found that the owl would mimic my whistling faithfully, and with
each response I would raise the pitch more and more. On one occasion, I was
able to 'bend' a Pygmy Owl's call what I'm sure was more than a full octave
one summer evening near Camas Creek. And, after I ceased whistling, the owl
continued long after, calling at the same high pitch where I left it.

I have also noticed that the "normal" pitch of Pygmy Owl calls, before any
whistle or tape was used as a decoy, seems to vary considerably. So I
really have to wonder how significant or reliable pitch is in identification
of the sex of owls.

Dave Nunnallee
dnun461 at ecy.wa.gov
Bellevue, WA