Nancy,



My experience with the two species is that while the pitch is similar for
both species, there is a difference in the rate and quality of the tone.
Both species will be calling now, with Pygmy the more likely as Saw-whets
are on eggs now. (I don't know when Pygmy's nest, but March seems to be a
vocal time for them.)



Northern Saw-whet is usually a rapid, 60+ toots per minute call that can
vary in pitch as well as in rate, and be more "irregular". The Stokes CD
call of a Saw-whet illustrates this well. Typically, if the bird is
"challenged" with another call, the bird will start tooting in a higher
frequency and rate, as if getting excited. The quality is not nearly as
pure as a Pygmy Owl, and can seem to be two tones slurred together to form a
single toot. Saw-whets usually stop calling about an hour before dawn, but
may continue up to dawn at this time of year. (presumably a male still
looking for a mate). Saw-whets usually call from a location with dense
foliage (cedar trees), and within 30 feet of the ground. Birds that are
calling for extended periods of time (like what you are describing) will
call at a slower rate, but still not anywhere near as slow as a Pygmy.



Northern Pygmy Owls around here deliver a very slow, almost methodical call
of a clear, resonant, almost bell-like tone, at a rate of about 17-24 toots
per minute. They will call at all times of night, and after dawn. If
challenged, they will often stop calling, relocate, and call again,
sometimes initiating the tooting series with a wonderful trill call. Pygmy
owls will usually call from the very uppermost branches of a tall fir tree.
However, because their call can carry for a half a mile, they as well as
Saw-whets can appear to be ventriloquists, and difficult to get a handle on
a true bearing to the bird. The Stokes CD has 3 different Pygmies on it,
the first of which sounds the closest to what we have here, but it has a
faster frequency. The last Pygmy on the CD is a southern bird with the
double note toot.



Hope this is of some help to you. If all else fails, you can always
challenge the bird and see who flies in..



J. Acker

Bainbridge Island, Washington

owler at sounddsl.com



_____

From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Nancy
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2006 8:03 AM
To: Tweets
Subject: [Tweeters] Owls



Hello Tweeters,

We have been hearing either a Northern Pigmy Owl or a Northern Saw-Whet Owl
at night. It starts at dark and makes its repeated tooting sound for hours,
sometimes all night long. The toot is always the same pitch from what we can
determine. How do you tell which Owl it is? Petersons says the Saw-Whet
call is faster than the Pigmy and repeats for hours which would describe the
sound we hear. But the Pigmy call on our CD sounds very similar.



We live across the street from Lake Young's off Petrovitsky in King County.
Have any of you in the area heard this owl?

Nancy Lander

Unincorporated King County- near Renton

nelrjb at comcast.net