Non-Vocalization: Many Ways to Make Noise
Tail feathers, swinging sticks, drumming, and more.
© Aaron Budgor
Many birds have creative ways to make noise without using their voices. Ruffed Grouse use their wings to make echoing booms. Wilson’s Snipes make a high-pitched sound called winnowing as air passes across their tail feathers. Palm Cockatoos swing a stick against a tree to tap out a beat.
This show was produced by World According to Sound. BirdNote and World According to Sound are teaming up for an immersive, 70-minute, virtual event about the sounds of birds. Learn more and register here.
BirdNote®
Non-Vocalization: More Than One Way to Make Noise
Written by The World According to Sound
This is BirdNote.
To talk, Humans use a larynx, a complex vocal organ. Birds use a syrinx. But some species use other body parts to make sound.
[Ruffed Grouse wing noise]
Body part: Wings. Species: Ruffed Grouse.
[Wilson’s Snipe winnowing]
Wings and tail: Wilson’s Snipe.
[Palm Cockatoo]
A tree banged with a stick held in a beak: Palm Cockatoo.
[Magnificent Frigatebird calls]
Inflated throat sacs beaten and rattled with a long beak: Magnificent Frigatebird.
[Sage Grouse calls]
Finally, chest Sacs: Sage Grouse.
[Sage Grouse calls]
I'm Sam Harnett for The World According to Sound. We're teaming up with BirdNote to make an immersive, 70-minute, virtual event about the sound of birds. More info at BirdNote.org.
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Produced by Sam Harnett and Chris Hoff of The World According to Sound
Senior Producer: John Kessler
Content Director: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Ruffed Grouse ML 216783 recorded by B. McGuire, Palm Cockatoo ML 201166 recorded by E Grieg,
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2022 BirdNote February 2022 Narrator: Sam Harnett
ID # wats-05-2022-02-07 wats-05
The World According to Sound
Writer
Sam Harnett
NarratorSights & Sounds
