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Re: Hermit Thrush vocalizing



On Sun, 1 Apr 2001, John Daughtry wrote:

> A Hermit Thrush was singing its song in my yard near Greenville, NC
> today.  I used to declare that I never heard that song before they
> left.  It is not as ringing as what I hear on their breeding grounds,
> and it has a lot of competition, but I wanted to thank my Carolinabirds
> friends for teaching me to listen for it.

One thing I've noticed about sound quality is how much habitat influences
it.  This was brought home to me during one spring migration when I heard
an odd sounding Common Yellowthroat in a shrubby field, singing a two
syllabled "wichy wichy wichy" instead of the usual "wichity wichity
wichity.  I found it, and lo and behold, it was an Ovenbird, foraging "out
of habitat" while migrating. The ringing quality of the Ovenbird song is
apparently produced in part by echoes off the tree trunks in their
breeding habitat, while the dry scratchiness of Common Yellowthroats may
be emphasized by the shrubby habitat they sing in.  So the lack of
"ringing" in the Hermit Thrush you heard might have to do with where you
heard it more than how it was singing.

Chris Hill
Conway, SC