Identify Laser Bird?
Gregory L. Hansen
For the past few years in Maryland I've been listening to a bird with a
rapid, electronic-sounding call like yit-yit-yit-yit-yit. No tweedles or
anything before and after, just that call. But I haven't been able to
find the bird, and whenever I go looking they go quiet. So I've just been
calling them laser birds, because they sound like ray guns in some British
science fiction show.
I think I saw one this morning in a pine tree. A small bird, grayish,
lighter belly, no extraordinary markings that I could see, but it was kind
of high up and obscured. I got a poorer look at one earlier, closer to me
and unobscured, but against a bright sky, so it was hard to see anything
besides a silhouette.
What is it?
--
"A good plan executed right now is far better than a perfect plan
executed next week."
-Gen. George S. Patton
Dalcio K. Dacol
>
> For the past few years in Maryland I've been listening to a bird with a
> rapid, electronic-sounding call like yit-yit-yit-yit-yit. No tweedles or
> anything before and after, just that call. But I haven't been able to
> find the bird, and whenever I go looking they go quiet. So I've just been
> calling them laser birds, because they sound like ray guns in some British
> science fiction show.
>
> I think I saw one this morning in a pine tree. A small bird, grayish,
> lighter belly, no extraordinary markings that I could see, but it was kind
> of high up and obscured. I got a poorer look at one earlier, closer to me
> and unobscured, but against a bright sky, so it was hard to see anything
> besides a silhouette.
>
> What is it?
Probably a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
Dalcio
Poolesville, MD 20837
Arocketship7
>From: glha...@steel.ucs.indiana.edu (Gregory L. Hansen)
>>
>For the past few years in Maryland I've been listening to a bird with a
>rapid, electronic-sounding call like yit-yit-yit-yit-yit. No tweedles or
>anything before and after, just that call. But I haven't been able to
>find the bird, and whenever I go looking they go quiet. So I've just been
>calling them laser birds, because they sound like ray guns in some British
>science fiction show.
>
>I think I saw one this morning in a pine tree. A small bird, grayish,
>lighter belly, no extraordinary markings that I could see, but it was kind
>of high up and obscured. I got a poorer look at one earlier, closer to me
>and unobscured, but against a bright sky, so it was hard to see anything
>besides a silhouette.
>
>What is it?
>>
The only one to me that sounds laser like to me is the Northern Cardinal.
Gregory L. Hansen
I just did a Google search on that one, and it sort of looks like the
bird I saw but a bit more spherical. But none of the songs I've found
were right.
I've listened to bird songs on CD, but the mind wanders when you're
listening to 300 bird songs. I thought it sounded a bit like a pine
warbler, but the pictures I've seen seem much too colorful, and the laser
bird sound sharper and more decisive.
Randy Pals
> For the past few years in Maryland I've been listening to a bird with a
> rapid, electronic-sounding call like yit-yit-yit-yit-yit. No tweedles or
> anything before and after, just that call. But I haven't been able to
> find the bird, and whenever I go looking they go quiet. So I've just been
> calling them laser birds, because they sound like ray guns in some British
> science fiction show.
> I think I saw one this morning in a pine tree. A small bird, grayish,
> lighter belly, no extraordinary markings that I could see, but it was kind
> of high up and obscured. I got a poorer look at one earlier, closer to me
> and unobscured, but against a bright sky, so it was hard to see anything
> besides a silhouette.
> What is it?
The first thing that came to my mind here was Chipping Sparrow, and
after you wrote this:
> I thought it sounded a bit like a pine
> warbler, but the pictures I've seen seem much too colorful, and the laser
> bird sound sharper and more decisive.
it sounds even more like a Chipping Sparrow.
Randy
mazzolata
That was my thought too, they have that video game sound they sometimes
make - but it's usually only part of their call.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------
Ma chambre a la forme d'une cage
le soleil passe son bras par la fenetre
Maurice Barnhill
> For the past few years in Maryland I've been listening to a
> bird with a rapid, electronic-sounding call like
> yit-yit-yit-yit-yit. No tweedles or anything before and
> after, just that call. But I haven't been able to find the
> bird, and whenever I go looking they go quiet. So I've just
> been calling them laser birds, because they sound like ray
> guns in some British science fiction show.
>
> I think I saw one this morning in a pine tree. A small bird,
> grayish, lighter belly, no extraordinary markings that I could
> see, but it was kind of high up and obscured. I got a poorer
> look at one earlier, closer to me and unobscured, but against
> a bright sky, so it was hard to see anything besides a
> silhouette.
>
> What is it?
>
check White-breasted Nuthatch as well. Your description of the
song is about right, and of course the Nuthatch is grayish.
Check the song, not the two-noted call.
--
Maurice Barnhill
m...@udel.edu [not bellatlantic.net]
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716
James
mazzolata wrote:
> Arocketship7 wrote:
>
>>> From: glha...@steel.ucs.indiana.edu (Gregory L. Hansen)
>>>
>>> For the past few years in Maryland I've been listening to a bird with
>>> a rapid, electronic-sounding call like yit-yit-yit-yit-yit. No
>>> tweedles or anything before and after, just that call. But I haven't
>>> been able to find the bird, and whenever I go looking they go quiet.
>>> So I've just been calling them laser birds, because they sound like
>>> ray guns in some British science fiction show.
>>>
>>> I think I saw one this morning in a pine tree. A small bird,
>>> grayish, lighter belly, no extraordinary markings that I could see,
>>> but it was kind of high up and obscured. I got a poorer look at one
>>> earlier, closer to me and unobscured, but against a bright sky, so it
>>> was hard to see anything besides a silhouette.
>>>
>>> What is it?
>>>
>>
>> The only one to me that sounds laser like to me is the Northern Cardinal.
>
>
> That was my thought too, they have that video game sound they sometimes
> make - but it's usually only part of their call.
>
On a completely different track, have you listened to the call of the
Northern Flicker?
James
Gregory L. Hansen
>Gregory L. Hansen wrote:
> > For the past few years in Maryland I've been listening to a
> > bird with a rapid, electronic-sounding call like
> > yit-yit-yit-yit-yit. No tweedles or anything before and
> > after, just that call. But I haven't been able to find the
> > bird, and whenever I go looking they go quiet. So I've just
> > been calling them laser birds, because they sound like ray
> > guns in some British science fiction show.
> >
> > I think I saw one this morning in a pine tree. A small bird,
> > grayish, lighter belly, no extraordinary markings that I could
> > see, but it was kind of high up and obscured. I got a poorer
> > look at one earlier, closer to me and unobscured, but against
> > a bright sky, so it was hard to see anything besides a
> > silhouette.
> >
> > What is it?
> >
>The Chipping Sparrow reply sounds good, but you might want to
>check White-breasted Nuthatch as well. Your description of the
>song is about right, and of course the Nuthatch is grayish.
>Check the song, not the two-noted call.
The bird looks like a reasonable match, I hadn't thought of it because I
only see pictures of the bird upside-down. But the song seems more rapid
than the one I'm thinking of, notes of more variable length and with more
structure.
Maybe I'll just start carrying a camera with me more often, maybe I'll
find it again in the same tree outside of work. But I got a good view of
a whitish belly and not a lot else. Lots of birds have a whitish belly.
The chipping sparrow also doesn't sound right. It's a good laser bird,
but not "the" laser bird. The notes are faster and more slurred together.
The one I hear makes notes with a definite beginning and end that start
high and slide low, maybe four or five notes per second.
I know I'm being kind of vague and unhelpful. If it helps, I don't recall
ever hearing it in Minnesota, where I grew up. I can't remember if I've
heard it in Indiana, but I haven't noticed it. But they seem all over the
place in Maryland, especially in wooded areas, and a bit away from people.
When I hear them, they seem to be high in trees.
OhSojourner
>Gregory L. Hansen wrote:
> > For the past few years in Maryland I've been listening to a
> > bird with a rapid, electronic-sounding call like
> > yit-yit-yit-yit-yit. No tweedles or anything before and
> > after, just that call. But I haven't been able to find the
> > bird, and whenever I go looking they go quiet. So I've just
> > been calling them laser birds, because they sound like ray
> > guns in some British science fiction show.
> >
> > I think I saw one this morning in a pine tree. A small bird,
> > grayish, lighter belly, no extraordinary markings that I could
> > see, but it was kind of high up and obscured. I got a poorer
> > look at one earlier, closer to me and unobscured, but against
> > a bright sky, so it was hard to see anything besides a
> > silhouette.
> >
> > What is it?
> >
>The Chipping Sparrow reply sounds good, but you might want to
>check White-breasted Nuthatch as well. Your description of the
>song is about right, and of course the Nuthatch is grayish.
>Check the song, not the two-noted call.
enature.com has a collection of bird photos and audio.
Maurice Barnhill
all over the place in Maryland woods. We ought to be able to
figure out what you have. Knowing that the notes are slurred and
the rate less than Chipping Sparrow helps. I think that Tufted
Titmouse might be a possibility. It sings 4-5 slurred phrases
per song, approximately 1 per second. The tone is not too
different from the Nuthatch although not at all nasal. This song
is slower than Chipping Sparrow and White-breasted Nuthatch.
[Are you sure about 4-5 notes per second? That rate would be
barely countable and about the same speed as the Chipping
Sparrow]. You would not have had Titmice in Minnesota, but they
do occur in Indiana.
Gregory L. Hansen
Maybe around 7 Hz, going by my attempt to imitate it in front of the
seconds ticker on my computer's clock.
Maurice Barnhill
I've gone through my checklist looking for woodland birds here in
summer that sing songs consisting of a series of similar notes or
phrases. Those that I think are too slow or that are
rhythmically uneven are in parentheses: (Yellow-billed Cuckoo),
(Black-billed Cuckoo), Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker,
(Downy Woodpecker), Hairy Woodpecker, (Tufted Titmouse),
White-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Warbler, (Black-and-white Warbler),
Prothonotary Warbler (wet woods only), Worm-eating Warbler,
(Ovenbird), (Kentucky Warbler), (Common Yellowthroat), Chipping
Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow (bushes at edges of marshes, not really
woodlands), and Dark-eyed Junco (mountains). I tried to err on
the side of inclusion. If it is not one of these, then I am
pretty sure I don't understand your description of the song, and
maybe saying which one it is most like would give me or someone
else an idea.
I left out 3 hawks because they are too big. The same applies to
Flicker and Pileated Woodpecker, actually, and I don't really
think that the other two Woodpeckers are very likely either. You
have already eliminated Chipping Sparrow and White-breasted
Nuthatch, but I included them for completeness sake.
Gregory L. Hansen
Thanks. I'll get the bird song CD from the library again. Narrowing the
list does a lot for my attention span.
Maurice Barnhill
> Thanks. I'll get the bird song CD from the library again. Narrowing the
> list does a lot for my attention span.
>
You could also look at
<http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/songlist.html> and
<http://www.naturesongs.com/birds.html>. Another poster (I think
in a different thread) mentioned enature, whose index page is
<http://www.enature.com/guides/select_Birds.asp>. This is also a
good site for songs as well as photographs.
Gregory L. Hansen
I didn't realize until I wrote them down what a list you have there. You
have all of those songs running in your head? I got a CD from the
library, I find that's more pleasant to work with than downloading songs
over the world wide wait. The short answer is I don't think any of those
match.
Reviewing the "laser bird" song, it's a series of notes at about 7 Hz
(give or take), each note monotonically decreasing in frequency with a
clear beginning and end, and no preambles or flourishes, just the repeated
sequence. It's also a very simple-sounding note, sort of electronic
sounding.
I didn't take notes on all the birds in the list, but here's some notes I
did take.
tufted titmouse -- too slow, too varied, too musical
white-breasted nuthatch -- similar to previous. Notes rise and fall
instead of falling monotonically, voice seems too rich
pine warbler -- voice too high, notes not monotonic, one song too fast
black-and-white warbler -- too high-pitched, slow, notes not monotonic
worm-eating warbler -- slow it down and speed and pitch are about right,
but notes didn't seem monotonic
ovenbird -- too complicated, too high pitched
northern water thrush -- the endings of some songs sounded similar to the
laser bird
chipping sparrow -- too fast, high-pitched, notes slurred together
dark-eyed junco -- song is closer, but notes blend into each other
The bird I think I've poorly seen is consistent with the dark-eyed junco,
Tenessee warbler, blue-gray gnatcatcher, and probably a dozen other birds.
Leon Fisk
glha...@steel.ucs.indiana.edu (Gregory L. Hansen) wrote:
<snip>
>Reviewing the "laser bird" song, it's a series of notes at about 7 Hz
>(give or take), each note monotonically decreasing in frequency with a
>clear beginning and end, and no preambles or flourishes, just the repeated
>sequence. It's also a very simple-sounding note, sort of electronic
>sounding.
<snip>
As long as we are just guessing, try listening to Field
Sparrow. It has a simple monotone song too, but variable
from individual to individual...
--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email
Gregory L. Hansen
Leon Fisk <lf...@no.spam.iserv.net> wrote:
>On Sat, 2 Aug 2003 02:07:42 +0000 (UTC),
>glha...@steel.ucs.indiana.edu (Gregory L. Hansen) wrote:
>
><snip>
>>Reviewing the "laser bird" song, it's a series of notes at about 7 Hz
>>(give or take), each note monotonically decreasing in frequency with a
>>clear beginning and end, and no preambles or flourishes, just the repeated
>>sequence. It's also a very simple-sounding note, sort of electronic
>>sounding.
><snip>
>
>As long as we are just guessing, try listening to Field
>Sparrow. It has a simple monotone song too, but variable
>from individual to individual...
A few of the songs on the CD sounded similar, except for variations in
chirp length and the rapid chirps blending together at the end.
mrnmrs...@gmail.com
> For the past few years in Maryland I've been etc. Etc.
Have you tried the app Ibird Yard? You can narrow your search down by your location, and bird description and it will liat the sounds. Great program! Good luck