database, calls, etc.

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poephila
poephila's picture
database, calls, etc.

Dear manager/s and others,

HELP!
I have been plagued lately by oddly calling birds. Most I can identify by sight and the eccentric nuances of others are familiar to me. The problem is the great variety of calls within a species. For instance, for several days I suspected that I hear bee-eaters calling, but it wasn't quite right: it turned out to be single young crimson rosellas calling in the canopy. Likewise the dratted SBBs are getting to me, with many thornbills utilising a much vaster array of calls at the moment than I am used to.
I'm sure it would assist many bird watchers if there was a database of calls. I know there are several on-line, including the Birds In Backyards pages themselves, but most include only one call type. Sometimes the calls given are what I would consider to be very atypical and of little real use to the beginner without explanation.
It would be great to have a database of bird identification (in the case of this forum, URLs of the most useful sites)that included links to photos and to a variety of call types. What do ya reckon?

booshkie
booshkie's picture

I often use the BiBY Top 40 to check a bird call and I agree some sound a bit squiffy!

The Red Wattle Bird for instance. Doesn't sound anything like the most common ACK-ACK that people are woken by and want to ID.

However, these are just a tiny sample of 4CDs worth of calls that you can buy:
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/about/contribute.cfm#fredvangessel

---booshkie---

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