Outdoor Ontario

Request for Information => Bird ID => Topic started by: Bruce on June 15, 2006, 09:54:34 AM

Title: Strange Owl / Whip-poor-will like call - downtown TO
Post by: Bruce on June 15, 2006, 09:54:34 AM

Hi everyone,

Bear with me on this one, since it seems rather bizarre.

I am looking for help with a bird call that I heard while lying in bed in Downtown TO (Sherbourne / Esplanade / Front St.) at 5.20am (dawn) this morning which has thoroughly baffled me.

It emulated a slow, lower pitched Whip-poor-will, with the "WHIP pewewe Wheww" sound, but there were some significant differences, beyond the obvious location and habitat, that reminded me of an owl's hoot!  "HU huhuhu HEWWW". Confused? I sure am!  Having listed to 5 or 10 calls online, here are the differences between the Whip-poor-will and what I heard.

First - the call wasn't a shrill whistle - more a hoot-like whistle, but it did still have a subtle melody
Second - the call lasted about 1.5 seconds and was repeated after a further ~1-second gap, rather than being faster and continuous like the Whip-poor-will.  It would continue 9 or 10 times and then recommence after a longer pause.  This went on for 10 minutes or so, with the same call
Third - the "Wheww" part trailed off rather than ending clearly and it wasn't the highest pitched note - the WHIP was

I have tried listening to Owl calls but I can't find anything consistent enough.

I went outside to look around and the sound seemed to be coming from the roof of one of the nearby buildings...the area is residential buildings in the 8-10 storey range, some of which have gravel roofs / some have rooftop gardens.  

I managed to catch a quick snippet using my cellphone voice recorder and will get it online later, but obviously the quality is mediocre and the melody is lost.  

Given the location, I am really not sure what it could have been...it's not something I have heard here before.  An unusually rythmic Great Horned Owl?  A slow, lazy Whip-poor-will? A mimic of some kind?  A Mockingbird? It really amazes me what Starlings can do these days but it just didn't quite sound right for a Starling!

Any ideas anyone?

Good Birding,
Bruce T.

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Post by: Pat Hodgson on June 15, 2006, 10:14:49 AM

mourning dove?

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Post by: Bruce on June 15, 2006, 10:35:12 AM

Hi Pat - thanks for the suggestion.  No...I am familiar with Mourning Doves and it was definitely not one of those.  

I'll keep checking out sounds online and if I find something similar I'll post an update.  Plus I'll get my rather poor soundbyte online later.  

Thx,
Bruce

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Post by: Bruce on June 15, 2006, 10:55:19 PM

OK.  Here is the bird call I am trying to identify.  The sound was captured by cellphone voice recorder then amplified...hence the poor quality.  The volume needs to be turned up high to hear the call above the background noise, which has come out like running water!

http://www.alignmarketing.com/nature/birdcall.wav (http://www.alignmarketing.com/nature/birdcall.wav)

Good Birding,
Bruce

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Post by: christie on June 16, 2006, 02:42:20 PM

sounds like a pigeon to me

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Post by: Lloyd on June 16, 2006, 05:59:12 PM

Pretty sure that's an Ecuadorian Hillstar.

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Post by: Brian Bailey on June 21, 2006, 10:42:31 PM

Just going by memory, it sounds like a Ringed Turtle-dove.  I couldn't find a recording on line, but I had one hanging around my neighbourhood a couple of years ago.

BB