Bird hearing isn't that different from ours (they don't hear very high
sounds or very low sounds as well as us, but are comparable in midranges).

And nobody can hear computer compression algorithms; all you (and birds)
can hear is compression waves in air, which is a very different thing!

If it sounds good to you, it will sound good to the birds.

Actually, "sounds good" is too high a standard you should hear some of the
pathetic owl imitations I've had lively responses to (unlike one NY owl
guru, I am NOT an opera singer, and it shows when I raise my shaky bass
into falsetto barred owl range).

Remember, try to avoid using playback in popular birding areas - if it's
occured to you, it's occurred to hundreds of other birders.

CH

Christopher E. Hill
Department of Biology
Coastal Carolina University Ph: 843.349.2567
P.O. Box 261954 Fax:843.349.2201
Conway, SC 29528 E: chill at coastal.edu

"You can see a lot just by observing." - Yogi Berra

On Mon, 4 Mar 2002, Rob Saecker wrote:

> Carol and tweets,
>
> I heard a report, third-hand but supposedly originating from Cornell,
> that some birds don't recognize, and thus won't respond to their song
> played back from a mini-disc. This due to the compression required to
> put 700 megs of information on that tiny little disc. I'm curious to
> know if anyone has any first-hand experience with this, or any other
> info to add. Seems to me that if a bird would respond to mini-disc
> playback, it might also respond to MP3 playback, and MP3 players are
> smaller and cheaper than mini-disc players, though still requiring a
> self-powered external speaker.
>
> Personally, I'm looking for a field recording device that will
> accomodate 24 bit, 96 or 192kHz, if anyone knows where to find one...
>
> --
> Rob Saecker
> Olympia
> rsaecker at thurston.com
>