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Re: b&w warbler, weird-singing towhee



There are many reported instances of birds singing "wrong" songs.  A
recent note (1998) in The Wilson Bulletin by Jon Greenlaw et al
documents Eastern Towhees mimicking alarm calls of Blue Jays, Brown
Thrashers and American Robins.  I've personally heard a Towhee do a Blue
Jay call (I'm pretty sure this was one of the same birds that Greenlaw
et al report on) and have heard a couple of different Towhees do Robin
alarm calls.  How often do we actually check out Blue Jay and Robin
calls to verify who's making them?

They also cite a 1977 paper (also Wilson Bulletin) by Don Borror titled
"Rufous-sided Towhee mimicking Carolina Wren and Field Sparrow" but I'd
have to dig though some boxes to get that one out ;-).

Kent Fiala
Raleigh NC