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buzzy



Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds
PostPosted: Sat Jan 11, 20 11:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

It occurs to me that possibly there are a lot more 'odd' birds around than we think, and it's only by careful observation from people like dpack that they get spotted (should have said 'noticed' I think ).

Cannot check our local Sparrows as we don't have any.

Henry

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sat Jan 11, 20 11:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

re "odd" birds, once you start to notice them there do seem to be quite a few.

a crow, a blackbird etc is as detailed as most folk go but if you notice that crow with the white patch on its waistcoat rather than a crowthere do seem to be a lot of minor variations and a few that look as though they should not be surviving such as curly.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sat Jan 11, 20 12:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

birds in boxes but the observations seem relevant to the handmaid and butler sparrows as well as dik and ms brown digging together and dividing the spoils into big worms for her , little ones for him.

i had seen a robin blackbird combo before but had not seen what they were doing, getting close helps a lot with the details of behaviours as does putting in the hours of observing.
at least i can sit comfortably indoors or out and study the subjects long term rather than being up a tree in the middle of papua for a few days

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 20 9:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

The sort of observation you are doing is very valuable Dpack. If it is published, or at least brought to the attention of the ornithologists, it could as a minimum open up new lines of research. Sitting still and observing can be very useful.

Another useful line when the weather gets warmer might to be observe how many 'odd' sparrows or other birds there are in a more open area like the park.

I had not realised that blackbirds and robins sometimes worked together, although robins tend to get people to work for them and can reward their person by chatting to them rather than singing at them.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 20 5:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    



meet yungi sammison ,who is now a bit older. not resident afaik but a regular along with the other one who is very stealthy, a flash of fur, a stir of leaf etc
i am not sure if yungi is a survivor of the visitation or if they are of a local family of good repute.
either way they are welcome

bird town has been quiet the last couple of days,this aft i got a load of id snaps of justin, his brother al and the two pale ladies who are a late clutch that is still together ( if they are siblings as it seems, i suspect two fathers might have been involved although it was a pale beak dad feeding them.)
most of the colony has spent the last two days hiding in bushes practising their choral works.

dik might have gained a mrs dik, im not sure yet.
ms brown is still a maiden of the parish but to my unblackbirdy eye she looks cute so i am hoping she will gain a nice gentleman and we will have the flutter of tiny wings in the yard again.

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Mon Jan 13, 20 7:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Yungi is rather lovely, as are all wood mice in the right place. We had to evict 13 from a caravan we were given that had already had a spell in the woods. If was damaged in a fire we had, so no doubt they have recolonised it as we don't use it now. Smells rather in consequence of their habitation.

I usually hear sparrows rather than see them. It has to be sparrows when a bush is twittering.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Mon Jan 13, 20 10:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

this might help translate a talking bush.
tis american but us sparrows are uk sparrows a few generations later so they are probably separated by a common language.

that he has a blind one does hint at there being a significant number that are disabled but seem to survive as part of a colony (at least until adopted)
birdtown is hungry after a quiet couple of days(weekend watchers?), the boy sparrows are shedding grey bits to show off their new dancing bibs and the boys have started showing off and squabbling with each other while the ladies look on.so at a guess they will start nest building and courting if single quite soon

some hints re calls

"jonrf
Registered User


Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: West Central Arkansas
Posts: 1

Arrow House sparrow vocalizations
I found your post as I am looking for any information on house sparrow behavior, especially their calls.

I might be able to answer some of your questions.

I have recently adopted a blind sparrow, and since he relies on sound and memory I have to communicate with him. For almost a month now I have found myself watching the same group of sparrows that he apparently lived among. See https://www.tropicalbirdsforum.com/fo...-is-blind.html

So, I am trying to learn their “language” as they have words for different things and communicate among the group or with one another.

When sparrows call for each other over some distance, where they cannot see the other bird, they usually make the loud two note whistle sound that slides upward in pitch and repeat it until another bird answers in acknowledgement and/or arrives in reply. I have noticed a quieter call like this when a bird wants to find another bird that was nearby and which is hidden from sight and will fly to the other bird that it was trying to find when the second bird answers back.

I know a few of their calls, but I need to learn their other calls. These are the distinctive calls I have heard house sparrows make:

1. alarm chirp (med) - when one is startled, disturbed or suddenly confused.

2. contentment grunts (quiet) - usually when a rather hungry or happy bird is feasting.

3. love call (med/quiet) like #8 but softer and quieter and with repeated cooing.

4. singing for hapiness/contentment (quiet) - multiple sounds and various parts of other calls. Juvenile male observed.

5. mating song (loud/variable) - mulltiple bursts of three notes in different orders and volume along with a dance in front of female.

6. defensive "watch out" shouts (med/loud) - sparrow warning another to stay back. Sounds like "Eeerrr'.!

7. angry at a dangerous animal/person - multiple angry calls in quick succession usually other members of the group join in this behavior.

8. group call - a loud whistle that slides about two octaves - signal to others to cooperate in order to get food like overcoming a large insect.

9. individual call - the loud "phillip" chirp. Most likely an announcement as its sound is unique among individuals. In addition to adults, fledglings also use this call to seek food from both parents. May be used to attract certain individuals as they recognize each one’s particular ‘voice’.

10. the loud (questioning) call to one another over some distance in order to locate individuals of the group beyond the range of sight (~1 city block). Higher pitch and volume than the close range location call.

11. dual warning calls (loud) - made to intimidate or draw the attention of a predator away from their young or identify a danger to others.

12. food call - a bit like the love call but louder like the group call. It is shorter and not as loud as the group call. It also consists of the three unique pitches and sound of the individual call.

13. close range location call – like the questioning distance call but lower in pitch and duration as well as in volume. Usually when a bird wants to know where a certain bird is when they loose track of where they were just at. This call may possibly have multiple functions or usage like the individual call.

14. ???

They may indeed have a roosting call as do other birds. And they may have a call for water. I have to set up a bird bath outside away from the food to see if they announce the fact. Alot of birds cry out "hawk" to warn other birds of different species that a bird of prey is in sight. And some also do this for snakes and cats.

The songs of young males consist of other sounds and would suggest that they have more specific calls in addition to the ones I have listed here.

I hope this may shed a little light to their sounds and their behavior.
Last edited by jonrf : Thursday 13th August 2009 at 08:44.
jonrf is offline "

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Mon Jan 13, 20 10:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

What a fantastic shot DPack. Yungi is well cute.

Talking of odd birds, this is a black bird that hangs around out garden.


dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Mon Jan 13, 20 11:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

wow , nice snap, that chap has more albino feathers than the spotty ones round here.

ace urban hedge gillie suit in a bit of litter but a bit noticeable on a flat greenscreen.
probably pretty good in twilight or shadows

it has the bright,adult male, beak so it has lasted a while with it's rather snazzy eagle look

how do the ladies feel about him?

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Mon Jan 13, 20 1:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Well I've never seen him with a lady but maybe he does his dating somewhere else.

He is very groovy. Never seen anything like him. He is the only unusual bird we have around our way, well from what I've seen anyway.

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 20 8:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Interesting post Dpack. It seems other people spend as much time getting to know their birds as you do. I hear alarm calls from birds in the garden fairly frequently; probably a cat or bird of prey on the prowl as our garden is far more cat friendly than other gardens.

That is a very interesting blackbird Sgt. Colon. We don't seem to have many piebald ones round here, but we are suburban/semi rural, so suspect they do better in a more urban environment. I sometimes get the impression here that the wildlife is rural but the people urban.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 20 11:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

there are a few but not that many, i have been looking for shoulders to stand on and only found a few relevant ones so far.

many folk enjoy birds but know little about them, most of those who "observe" do so in a quantitative way or as a tick list of spp to spot.

when i am out and about i often have no idea what the lbj in a bush is, nor do i much care, bird behaviour fascinates me and on a practical level some aspects can be rather useful if understood. weather, ground "predators" even high and quiet planes will be noticed and noted by the avians.

returning to "odd" birds , the crow parliament would be the time to survey them, i will try to track them down when they next meet up.

light flooding on the ings would be a good plan as they paddle and dine well at the invertebrate swimming gala

sgt.colon



Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 20 12:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Mistress Rose wrote:
I sometimes get the impression here that the wildlife is rural but the people urban.


I think the people down there are urban now. Mrs C comes from Lyndhurst and when we come down she say's how the area she grew up in is now just full of Townies. Let's hope the wildlife doesn't become the same.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 20 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

here is urban/suburban/water margin/rural within a few mins as the bird flies.

the sparrows are local, the peregrines live on the dean's yard side of the minster, high up like quasimodo's athletic familiars

dik ms brown and the wrens are local. there are local populations of corvids, there are nomads but the locals are quite protective of resources.
we get the odd visit from travellers who are tolerated , sort of, sometimes, for a short while

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 20 1:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

so as to let tt work without my dubious taste in radio/tunes i got some decent headphones

they have assorted clever features including mixing the from pooter signal with inbuilt microphones(or not as noise cancelling)with the turn of a dial.

i can listen to radio 4 and boost the sparrow chorus

full has too much rumble from the railway museum, station, builders road etc but a 50% amplification tops up bird sound a treat

super cool side effect of trying to be easy to live with

when i was about 11 i put a cone on a mic/cassette recorder combo and played with umbrella and sticky tape as well.
both were quite good at the job of gathering sound at a distance but this is good up close and stereo.

then it was about making the kit , now accidental kit turns up just when needed

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