[texbirds] Re: Interesting Vocalization from a Tufted Titmouse, Chambers County
- From: Rex Stanford <calidris.bairdii@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: David Sarkozi <david@xxxxxxxxxxx>, texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2015 22:49:42 -0500
David,
Thanks for the opportunity to hear your very nice recording of this
surprising utterance from a Tufted Titmouse. I heard in the background the
voice of what I am inclined to think was a Northern Mockingbird singing a
song with a series of utterances with notes, at times, of similar duration,
cadence, and, remarkably, timbre (i.e., perceived tonal quality) to those
that you recorded of the titmouse. This striking circumstance raises in my
mind the following question, assuming there was mimicry occurring here: Who
was mimicking whom (or both perhaps doing it relative to the other in some
degree). If the strange notes of the titmouse be deemed mockery of a
mockingbird's notes, then I wonder if they might have been elicited on the
possibility that the mockingbird, which can be a rather nasty critter at
times, could be driven from the area. Those are just some thoughts elicited
by this episode, for whatever they might be worth.
My own suspicion, given the rarity of such notes from a Tufted Titmouse, is
that the titmouse might have been trying to mock a mockingbird. The notes
of the latter might have been the driving (or eliciting) stimulus, and
those possible mockingbird utterances are some I feel sure I often have
heard from that loquacious species. Some, but by no means all, of this
(possible) mockingbird's sequences of notes seem remarkably similar in both
cadence and timbre to those of the titmouse. Of course, we cannot be sure
at all of who was mocking whom or whether there might have been some give
and take (back and forth) here--if what was involved actually was mockery.
Or perhaps I was just hearing on the recording the second (more distant)
titmouse that David mentioned. However, I tend to doubt that because the
musical phrases of the bird I think might have been a mockingbird moved
away in character, at times, to be somewhat different than those of the
titmouse. To my ear, the voice I heard in the background of this recording
seemed that of a Northern Mockingbird and one singing a song similar to
what I have heard many times from that species. I wonder what some experts
on avian song/vocalization, such as Mary Beth Stowe, might think about the
species of this second, distant, singer. I jacked up my system's volume to
maximum and listed to that background avian music several times, and the
major background voice still sounded, to my ears, that of a mockingbird. I
am, though, getting up in years and my auditory sensitivity may be less
than optimal. I therefore hope we might hear from others after they have
listened to this fascinating recording several times. The opportunity to
hear this instructive and stimulating recording is much appreciated.
Rex Stanford
Weslaco
On Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 9:27 PM, David Sarkozi <david@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I had two different Tufted Titmice doing a vocalization I've never
> heard before Sunday, March 29, 2015 in Cedar Hill Park, Chambers
> County. The two birds were about a half mile apart and there were
> plenty if titmice making the familiar "peter peter peter" call at the
> same time.
>
> I was able to get a good recording of the call, you can play it here:
>
> http://www.xeno-canto.org/233656
>
>
> I bird this location frequently and have never heard anything like
> this. The bird was visible so the ID is not in doubt.
>
> Listening to the recordings on Xeno-canto.org I did find a couple from
> Wisconsin that sound similar. Actually since there are a lot of Tufted
> Titmouse recordings there I was amazed at the variety of vocalizations
> from they make!
>
> --
> David Sarkozi
> Houston, TX
> (713) 412-4409 twitter ID dsarkozi
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