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Superb lyrebird
A superb lyrebird can copy calls from other birds and weave them into its own performance. A captive bird named Chook also picked up mechanical sounds around his enclosure. His recording is a reminder that a noise like a tool can be part of a bird’s repertoire.
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Koala
A koala’s bellow starts with a labored intake of air and drops into a low, rattling growl. Males can go surprisingly low thanks to an extra pair of vocal folds above the larynx. The bellow is especially associated with the breeding season.
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Porichthys notatus
A male plainfin midshipman can keep up a low, steady hum from a nest under a rock. Fast contractions of muscles against the swim bladder produce the sound, which helps attract females. A chorus can sound like an electrical hum that refuses to turn off.
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Kākāpō
A male kākāpō calls from a shallow bowl in the ground during the breeding season. He inflates an air sac in his chest to send out a series of low, resonant booms. His sharper courtship call, the ching, gives the same large, flightless parrot a very different sound.
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American bittern
The male American bittern makes a deep, gulping rhythm that sounds like an old water pump. The low notes carry across a marsh, where the bird can be hard to see against the reeds. Listen for the little intake of air between the louder beats.
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White bellbird
A male white bellbird can deliver a clear, hard-edged call that rings like metal. In the louder of its two main songs, the first note can give way to a much more forceful second note. A male can turn to direct that second note at a nearby female.
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Club-winged manakin
This little manakin can sing with its wings. A ridged feather and a neighboring feather interact as the male rapidly moves his wings during courtship. The result is a high buzz with a clear pitch, like a tiny stringed instrument.
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Laughing kookaburra
A laughing kookaburra can start with a low chuckle and build to loud cackles. Other kookaburras can join in as they advertise their territory. The chorus can sound uncannily like several people laughing together.
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Common loon
A common loon’s wail cuts over open water, rising and then trailing into a lower note. Loons use it to keep in touch when they’re apart. The quicker, wavering tremolo is a different call, heard when a loon is alarmed or in flight.
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Wilson's snipe
The pulsing sound from a diving Wilson’s snipe is called winnowing. Air makes its outer tail feathers vibrate as the bird flies through a courtship display. The sound is a good reason to look up over a marsh even when the calling birds seem to be at ground level.
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American woodcock
At dusk the male starts with a nasal peent from the ground. Then he spirals up and specialized wing feathers make a musical twitter, a second sound you can pick out before he drops back down.
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Common nighthawk
A common nighthawk can make a bassy boom when it pulls out of a steep dive. Air moves across the wing feathers as the bird changes direction. That abrupt sound is different from the sharp nasal call it makes with its voice.
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Greater sage-grouse
A male greater sage-grouse gets more than one sound out of its strut. Air sacs on its chest help make resonant pops, and feathers brushing against its wings make a swish. The quieter sound is easiest to pick out just before the pops.
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Sandhill crane
A flock overhead can sound like a faraway parade of trumpets. The crane’s windpipe coils into its breastbone, giving that rolling bugle a lower, richer sound.
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Ruffed grouse
A male ruffed grouse can turn a log into a stage for a drumroll. It starts with widely spaced thumps that speed into a low roll. The bird makes the noise by beating its wings through the air while it stays on the log.
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American barn owl
A harsh, drawn-out scream is a signature call of the American barn owl. Males make it more often and can repeat it in flight. There’s also a separate, sustained hiss when a nest is disturbed.
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Indian peafowl
The male Indian peafowl can repeat a call like a drawn-out meow as well as giving louder, trumpetlike calls. During courtship he can make a completely different noise by rattling the long feathers in his raised train.
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Red fox
A red fox can cut through the night with a high, drawn-out scream that barely sounds like a bark. The scream is associated with the winter breeding season. Red foxes also make short barks, so the two sounds can be easy to mistake for different animals.
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Spotted hyena
A spotted hyena’s giggle comes out in staccato bursts, almost like nervous laughter. It can occur in tense situations around food. Recordings also reveal differences in the pitch and timing of individual animals’ giggles.
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American pika
An American pika can go from sitting quietly on a rock to letting out a sharp, squeaky call. The short call can serve as an alarm or warning to another pika. Its pitch and abrupt finish are easier to pick out than the small animal among the rocks.
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Elk
A bull elk’s bugle rises from a low note to a high whistle. The loud call carries during the fall rut, when bulls compete and advertise their presence. A whistle that seems too high for a big animal is often the part that gives it away.
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