Afternoon tweeters,
Dave Nunnallee has suggested that pitch may not be a valid
criterion with which to assess sex in owls. I am beginning to think that
this may be the case also. Perhaps there are contralto females that tend
to hoot at the bottom of their register and first tenor males that hoot
at the top of their's. And then we have the rest of the chorus to consider.

What I have been observing is a bird (Western Screech-owl) with a higher
pitched song hooting from a roost and then another owl sticks its head out
of a nest box. When the nest box owl vocalizes it is noticeably lower
than the other. The "Birder's Handbook" states that Western Screech-owls
pairs often share the nest during the day so this complicates things a
little. I suppose the answer lies in more observations and additional
literature research.

On another note, anybody else think there are more Orange-crowned
Warblers in the area than usual?

Paul Moorehead
n9135066 at henson.cc.wwu.edu
Guemes Island, Washington