Subject: Alder Flycatcher (sonogram images)
Date: Jun 20 19:25:18 2002
From: Mike Patterson - celata at pacifier.com


Here's a page I put together one or two Alder Flycatcher
reports ago:

http://home.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/traills/traills.html



David Beaudette wrote:
>
> Thanks to all who have added to this discussion. Several times it has been
> mentioned that birders may hear the same bird and give differing verbal
> descriptions of what the bird sounded like. So, when documenting a rarity
> like Alder
> Flycatcher a recording is the way to go. So if we get a good quality
> recording and then
> a sonogram, then what? What do we compare it to with confidence?
>
> Is there a definitive study out there on Alder vocalizations that we could
> use as a base of info on vocals for this species. Hopefully one that has
> looked
> at vocals from across the range. Looking at Sibley, the Alder
> has a very large range. If they all sound the same from across this range,
> has this been
> documented with sonograms? What repository of Alder sonograms from
> throughout
> the range do we examine? Where does a state bird records committee go?
> If comparative sonograms are not reflective of the range of the species and
> possibly some examples of known individual variation the process of
> comparison could be flawed. Museums have specimens of many individuals of
> the same species to show the range of variation. Hopefully the same is true
> for bird sound.
>
> Since Washington is out of the main range for Alder could some or most
> of these Alder candidates be hybrids with Willow? What would a hybrid sound
> like?
>
> Sorry for all the questions but when thinking about the Alder/Willow ID in
> WA State, I wonder if we really have the answers.
>
> I have listened to Willow Flycatchers quite a bit and I can sometimes
> hear variations in the song in just the same patch from different birds.
> Hearing protection I used at those Grateful Dead concerts was a good thing.
>
> Dave Beaudette
> Wenatchee,WA
> drtbrdr at earthlink.net

--
Mike Patterson
Astoria, OR
celata at pacifier.com

http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html